KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- Kutztown registered 13 service aces --its most since 2017-- and hit .312 in disposing of Salem, 3-0, Saturday morning at the Kutztown Classic inside Keystone Arena.

With the victory, the Golden Bears improved to 5-2 on the season and placed 23rd-year head coach John Gump one win shy of 600 in his 32-year career, which also includes time at DeSales and Lehigh. Gump can achieve the milestone tonight at 6 when KU faces Goldey-Beacom to close out the weekend.

Holly Owen (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) had five of her match-high 11 kills and Alli Henderson (Boalsburg, Pa./State College) seven of her 10 digs in Kutztown's 25-10 first-set victory. The Bears overcame a lethargic few points to open the match, answering with a 14-1 run after falling behind 3-0. They went on to hit .300 (13 kills-4 errors-30 attempts) in the set. Junior middle hitter Britney Hewitt (East Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) matched Owen with five kills in the set.

KU never trailed in the second, gradually pulling away to a 25-19 decision. Hewitt paved the way offensively with three aces and three kills.

The Golden Bears scored seven of their 25 points in the third on aces, as Sydney Wilson (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) provided a trio and Abbey James (York, Pa./West York Area) had two. Kutztown dominated the set, winning 25-5 and hitting .433.

Owen surpassed 100 kills on the year in the victory and hit .345 for the match on 29 attempts. Hewitt had eight kills and hit .700, while Henderson and Patterson each had five kills. Abby Daniels (Exton, Pa./Great Valley) and Lauren Jackson (Stafford, Va./Mountain View) added four kills apiece for the Maroon and Gold.

James supplied a second-straight assist-dig double-double with 15 and 14. Lexi Morrow (Landisburg, Pa./West Perry) had 14 assists.

Salem (0-8) struggled to get anything going offensively with just nine kills and 10 errors on 72 attempts. The Tigers also committed seven service errors. Jalavia Johnson registered seven digs and two kills, while three of her teammates finished with six digs each.