KUTZTOWN, Pa. (September 3, 2011) – Senior libero Lindsey Smith (Hanover, PA/Delone Catholic) recorded her 1,000th career dig Saturday morning as the Kutztown University women's volleyball team earned a 3-2 comeback win against Stonehill College at Keystone Arena. (BOXSCORE)
Smith has played in all four years in her time at KU, and has been a major contributor on the defensive end. Following a timeout in the fourth game, Smith was recognized as the sixth player in Kutztown history to reach the 1,000 mark and was embraced by her coaches and teammates.
“I've worked really hard over the past four years and it feels awesome to have reached 1,000 digs,” Smith said. “It's awesome to know that hard work pays off and it's even better that it happened at home and with a win.”
The Golden Bears (4-0 overall) looked sharper than ever in the fifth game of Saturday's match. After overcoming a 2-1 deficit, KU used sharp passing and a dominant front line to take down the Skyhawks on their way to a fourth straight victory. This is the second consecutive season KU has started off to a 4-0 rout.
Smith finished with 27 digs to bring her career total to 1,006. Helping Smith on the backline was junior Brittany Harman (Hanover, PA/South Western) who added a career-high 19 digs. Harman also finished with nine kills including the match-winner.
Katie Lutz (Greencastle, PA/Greencastle Antrim) and Brianna Risch (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) led KU with double digit kills apiece. They teamed up for 22 kills with Lutz powering down a season-high 12. She also added 3.5 blocks. Leading KU in blocks was senior Cali Snell (York, PA/York Suburban) who 5.5 including three solo blocks. She has played a vital role in Kutztown's early success on both ends of the floor as she also added seven kills and eight digs.
The tandem of Kimberlee Gomber (Washington, PA/Washington) and Dana Wright (Warminster, PA/Saint Basil Academy) seem to get better and better with every game. Wright had 21 and Gomber set up 20 KU kills, which tallied for all but three KU assists. KU has battled through some tough matches in the early going of their season, and appear to be moving nowhere but forward.
“This was a very back and forth game for us, but we definitely came together in the fifth game,” Smith said. “As Coach said, I feel we passed the best we have all season so far, and it showed in the fifth game.”
The Golden Bears will get some well-deserved time to relax and ice down after its fourth match in three days. They will return to the court for the final match of the 2011 KU Classic as it faces C.W. Post at 6 p.m.
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