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Box Score 2 FAIRMONT, W. Va. – The Kutztown University women's volleyball team had the honor of being the first team on campus to compete this fall. KU did not disappoint, earning a victory in straight sets over D'Youville in the opener Friday morning, before dropping a 3-0 contest to host Fairmont State later that afternoon at the Fairmont State Classic.
The Golden Bears won their first match by scores of 25-15, 25-18, 25-15, against the Saints in the first action of the day. The Falcons took care of home court by defeating KU 16-25, 16-25, 17-25 in an early afternoon tilt.
After nearly 22 full months without competing in an NCAA match, head coach
John Gump was pleased with what he saw out of his younger team.
"This is pretty much a brand-new team from 2019," said Gump. "We're still learning each other, how to play with each other and how I coach them, and it's an entirely different system as a whole. We wanted to play well, but at the same time there's a 'get to know us type of feel' to this weekend. We had four freshmen see action and a couple sophomores, so they need to get more comfortable with the pace of the game."
Some of the underclassmen that started or played extensively in their first collegiate matches included
Julia Post (Sellersville, Pa./Pennridge),
Emma Filipovits (Hanover, Pa./South Western),
Alexa Feorene (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional),
Sophia Basler (Dover, Del./Smyrna),
Maura Lehman (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove) and
Grace Ingram (Allentown, Pa./William Allen).
Gump's philosophy this season is to attack the net more frequently and he has added more height and athleticism to his roster to help out the cause. Returning upperclassmen including
Erin Patterson (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) and
Lauren Jackson (Stafford, Va./Mountain View) have continued to be forces at the net. And even junior setter
Lexi Morrow (Landisburg, Pa./West Perry) can hold her own, standing at 5-feet, 10-inches.
"It was nice to see contributions across the board on offense from our hitters, which is really important," Gump said. "For us to be successful we need to put pressure on teams on the net. We don't want to become predictable. What we did so well in the first match was we were able to score all along the net on the right side, left side and in the middle."
Kutztown jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first set of the opening match and never looked back. KU was never really threatened in any of the three sets against D'Youville, humming along to its first victory of the young season.
"The kids took control and stayed on top," said Gump on the opening match. "To win the opener and get that first win out of the way is important. It gives you the confidence to do it more often."
Kutztown finishes off play at the Classic with two more matches on Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m., against Davis & Elkins.
*Stats will be added at a later date*
