Box Score Caldwell 3, Kutztown 2 (HTML Box Score)
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's volleyball team dropped the final set of a five-set match, 16-14, in a heartbreaking setback to Caldwell College in Friday evening's Kutztown Classic match at Keystone Arena, giving the Golden Bears their first loss of the season.
In the deciding set to 15, both squads fought back and forth, resulting in six different lead changes. With the score tied at 13, each team exchanged points until Caldwell's Kasey Bausch issued the final kill, ending the set 16-14 and giving Caldwell a hard-fought, five-set victory.
KU's performance was yet again highlighted by the play of sophomore
Audrey Stringer (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury), who led the team with 15 kills and tied her career-high with nine total blocks. Freshman
Liama Goodrich (Birdsboro, PA/Daniel Boone) finished with 12 kills and four blocks, as fellow freshman
Anna Conti (Grove City, Ohio/Grove City) gave another impressive performance, dishing out 44 assists and nine digs.
The Golden Bears (1-1) came out strong in the first set against a Cougars (1-0) squad that competed in their first match of the season. At 12-8, Conti initiated a solid run for Kutztown, building their lead to 20-9. The Golden Bears held off a late Caldwell rally for a 25-14 first-set victory.
Caldwell immediately retaliated in the second set, winning the first four points and eventually taking a 10-4 lead. Taylor Kovach finished off the set for the Cougars, serving a five-point run and giving them a 25-15 second-set win.
The third set was neck-and-neck from beginning to end, as both teams looked to take a two-set-to-one advantage. The Cougars recorded the first point and nearly led throughout the entire set, until KU was finally able to knot it up at 23-23. KU finished off the last two points with a kill and block by Stringer, securing the set 25-23 and a 2-1 match score. The Golden Bears capitalized on solid play in the third set, tallying 12 kills and committing a set-low two errors.
In the fourth set, the Cougars fought back with the help of tremendous play by Taylor Zaeske. At 9-6, Zaeske put away a kill from Kovach. Zaeske was up next to the line, serving the Cougars to a 10-0 run. Caldwell tied the match at 2-2, with its fourth set victory (25-13).
The Golden Bears wrap up the Kutztown Classic tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 7 with matches against Southern New Hampshire (10:30 a.m.) and Davis & Elkins (6:30 p.m.).
