Friday Live Stats | Saturday Live Stats
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's volleyball team heads out west this weekend as it opens up Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play with crossover matches on Friday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m. at Indiana (Pa.) and Saturday, Sept. 24, at 1 p.m. at Clarion.
Kutztown (3-8) will be fresh as it has not played a match since last Saturday when it wrapped up competition at the Urbana Tournament in Ohio.
The Golden Bears finished the tournament with a 1-3 record, including an impressive 3-2 victory in their final match against Shepherd after trailing 2-1 after three sets.
Indiana (Pa.) heads into Friday's matchup with the best overall record in the PSAC Southwest Division at 9-2, while Clarion currently has the worst record in the division at 5-6.
The Crimson Hawks have won three of their last four matches overall, but dropped their last match in straight sets to Charleston. Clarion went 2-2 in its last four matches, all at the Wheeling Jesuit Tournament, dropping its last two in straight sets.
KU heads into this weekend allowing just 1.94 service aces per set (second in PSAC). It also has a .167 hitting percentage (10th) and is recording 1.70 blocks per set (10th).
Indiana (Pa.) ranks in the top-five in the PSAC in several categories, including opponent hitting percentage, opponent kills and blocks. Clarion is third with 13.14 kills and 12.60 assists per set, and is fifth in blocks per set (2.03).
Sophomore
Brittney Moyer (Orwigsburg, Pa./Blue Mountain (Lock Haven)), the reigning PSAC Southeast Division Athlete of the Week, leads the entire PSAC with 170 kills and 26 service aces, and is second with 3.62 kills per set. Moyer has recorded double-digit kills in 10 of KU's 11 matches, including a career-high 27 against Chowan on Sept. 3.
Senior
Anna Conti (Grove City, Ohio/Grove City) has started the season off strong, providing 384 assists (third in PSAC), including 30 or more in nine of 11 matches. She also has 84 digs, recording at least five in all but one match this season. Conti has 2,815 assists and 971 digs in her KU career. She is looking to become just the third player in KU history to record 3,000 career assists and the 10th to post 1,000 digs.
Madison Brake (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Bishop Hartley) paces KU with 174 digs and now sits at 1,474 for her career. She needs six more to move into fourth all-time in KU history in digs (1,480) and 26 to reach 1,500.
Jessica Howe (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg Area) and
Zandria Zielinski (York, Pa./York Catholic) have 74 and 72 kills, respectively, while freshman
Taylor Brown (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern) has contributed with 41.
Tori Wakelee (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East) has posted 65 digs, while
Sophie Kerschner (Clinton, N.J./North Hunterdon) and
Madisyn Kleinfelter (Jonestown, Pa./Northern Lebanon) have recorded 54 and 53, respectively.
Zielinski has the most blocks for the Golden Bears with 34. Brown and
Cara Long (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg Area) are tied for second on the team 21 and
Niki Carpenter (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion Area) has recorded 17.
Natalie Cignetti leads Indiana (Pa.) with 135 kills (sixth in PSAC) and 129 digs on the season. Lily McWilliams is second on the team with 110 kills and Elora Pittman paces the Crimson Hawks with 35 total blocks.
Taylor Braunagel, Leah Vensel and Marissa Robertson are three players to keep an eye on for Clarion. Braunagel has posted 111 kills this season, while Vensel has contributed with 266 assists (10th in PSAC) and Robertson is tied for the team-high with 145 digs.
The Golden Bears have struggled in the past against both of their upcoming opponents. KU's last victory over the Crimson Hawks was in 2011, while its last win against Clarion was back in 2006.
