Box Score Kutztown 3, East Stroudsburg 0 (HTML Box Score)
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Spreading the wealth and limiting errors on offense lifted the Kutztown University women's volleyball team got back in the win column with a 3-0 victory over visiting East Stroudsburg University on Tuesday evening in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division match at Keystone Arena.
Five players tallied five or more kills to help the Golden Bears (9-9, 3-4 PSAC East) snap their four-match skid.
Chelsea Braga (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach (Fairleigh Dickinson)) and
Liama Goodrich (Birdsboro, PA/Daniel Boone) drove home a team-high nine kills apiece. Both players finished with above average hitting percentages as Braga added 12 digs.
Danielle Van Buren (Bethlehem, Pa./Saucon Valley) held a team-best .375 hitting percentage with seven kills and just one error. She was active on the front line with senior
Nicole Brumbley (Oxford, PA/Oxford), blocking two East Stroudsburg (5-14, 1-7) attacks in the match.
Setting up the Kutztown attackers was freshman
Anna Conti (Grove City, Ohio/Grove City), who finished with 32 assists and a pair of sneaky kills.
Defensively,
Madison Brake (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Bishop Hartley) started as Kutztown's libero and tallied a team-high 15 digs.
Morgynn McKenzie (Greencastle, PA/Greencastle-Antrim) picked up 13 digs to assist the backline trio of Brake and Braga.
Tuesday's nights first set was by far the closest of the three. After trailing 18-16, Kutztown rattled off six straight points with Conti serving to take control of the opening set. A pair of ESU kills and a service ace brought the score to 22-21, with the Golden Bears still on top. Following an ESU ace to tie the game at 24-24, Kutztown's Van Buren drove home a kill to give Kutztown set-point, as an ESU attack error closed the first game.
Kutztown went on a 9-3 run to take a 13-7 lead in the second set. It never relinquished the lead and went on to win 25-17. It led throughout the entire third set and went on to win 25-15.
The Warriors were led by Abby Welch's 15 kills on 41 attacks, more than a third of East Stroudsburg's total team attacks (116). Fellow outside hitter Sydney Galoozis tallied 12 kills on 36 attacks.
As a team, East Stroudsburg committed 23 attack errors compared to Kutztown's 12. It was Kutztown's third lowest error total of the season.
The Golden Bears continue to enjoy the comfort of Keystone Arena this weekend with a pair of home matches. It faces Millersville University on Friday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m., and Shippensburg University on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 1 p.m.
