KUTZTOWN, PA (September 4, 2010) – The Kutztown University volleyball team concluded a long, productive and rewarding day by winning a pair of 3-2 thrillers over the College of Saint Rose in the afternoon and C.W. Post in the evening Saturday in the KU Classic at Keystone Arena. (COLLEGE OF SAINT ROSE BOX) / (C.W. POST BOXSCORE)

The Golden Bears outlasted both teams to run their early season record to 3-0 overall. Kutztown closed out Saint Rose by scores of 25-7, 24-26, 25-17, 23-25, 15-4. However, that was just a prelude to the Golden Bears' finishing act. In the nightcap, the Golden Bears overcame a 2-1 deficit and two match points to defeat C.W. Post, 25-20, 25-27, 24-26, 27-25, 15-11.

“We worked hard today and neither one of these victories came easy,” Kutztown senior Lindsay Confer (Wingate, PA/Bald Eagle) said. “I believe as a team, we got better this weekend. This was an awesome day and everybody contributed to these wins today. Efforts like today, can only help our confidence.”

Kutztown was on the run for much of the match as C.W. Post had an answer for nearly everything the Golden Bears did. The Pioneers, members of the East Coast Conference, won the second and third games and were poised to finish Kutztown in the fourth game. C.W. Post led, 24-22 and 25-24 before the Golden Bears rallied to force the decisive fifth game.

“It looked pretty bad for a while, but we dug deep and kept fighting,” Confer said.

Confer was one of many heroes for the Golden Bears in the win against C.W. Post as she finished with eight kills, including the final point of the match that clinched the match. After Confer's shot hit the floor, the Golden Bear bench erupted in celebration. Cali Snell (York, PA/York Suburban) (13 kills) and Cait Hess (Newark, DE/St. Mark's) (11 kills) combined for 24 kills. Kelsey Nester (Catasauqua, PA/Catasauqua) and Erin Kissling (York, PA/Central York) finished with nine kills each.

The tandem of Dana Wright (Warminster, PA/Saint Basil Academy) and Kimberlee Gomber (Washington, PA/Washington) did another sterling job of setting the table for her teammates. Wright finished with 25 assists and 14 digs. Gomber added 17 assists.

Jamie Celia (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) had a productive evening with 30 digs and four service aces. Combined with her three service aces in the opener against the College of Saint Rose, Celia now has 157 in her sterling career. She moved past Dani Witherite and into second place on the all-time KU list in service aces. Nicole Biuso is the career leader with 160.

Against Saint Rose, Confer and Snell added three kills in the final game. Confer led Kutztown with 12 kills, while Wright and Gomber each added 19 assists.

Kutztown returns to action Tuesday evening when it travels to Philadelphia University for a match starting at 7 p.m.

--KU--