CALDWELL, N.J. – Sadie Doss (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) had 17 kills,
Emma Stalsitz (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) added seven aces in her collegiate debut and
Cat Farole (Orefield, Pa./Parkland) provided a double-double with 18 assists and 12 digs as Kutztown overcame a pair of one-set deficits to outlast host Caldwell, 3-2 (23-25, 25-17, 20-25, 25-22, 15-11), in its 2023 season opener Thursday night.
The Golden Bears (1-0) were night and day from set to set, hitting .333 or better in the three they won, while conversely attacking at under a .100 clip in the two they conceded.
Caldwell scored the final four points of the first to steal a 25-23 win out from under the Maroon and Gold. Kutztown fought back with a balanced effort on offense and a combined five aces from Stalsitz (three) and
Gabriela Fialova (Ledec nad Sazavou, Czech Republic/Sportovni Gymnazium Ludvika Danka) (two) to capture the second, 25-17.
Both teams would struggle offensively in the third, but the hosts did enough to go back in front with a 25-20 victory despite hitting in the negative for the set at -.036 (8 kills, 9 errors, 28 attempts).
Behind its best set of the evening, the Bears held on to clip the Cougars (0-1), 25-22, in the fourth. Doss led the way with four kills in the frame, while Farole had six digs. KU equaled its set-high with 12 kills and hit a match-best .391 (12-2-23).
The fifth set looked to be a lock for Kutztown when they went up 13-5 in the race to 15 on a block from
Anna Parmer (Firestone, Colo./Mead) and
Julia Post (Sellersville, Pa./Pennridge), but that wasn't quite the case. Caldwell scored six of the next seven points to throw a minor scare into
Allison Keeley's club, but the visitors prevailed, 15-11, when Fialova finished off a pass from
Maddie Ruhland (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) for the clinching point.
Doss hit .250 for the night (17-7-40) and added seven digs. Fialova, a graduate transfer, had eight kills in her first match with the Golden Bears, while
Sarah Hess (Landisville, Pa./Hempfield) had seven in her collegiate debut, Post six and
Grace Ingram (Allentown, Pa./William Allen) five.
Kutztown hit .197 overall (49-26-117) and produced 19 aces, its most in a match in nearly six years going back to a 21-ace performance against Bowie State, Sept. 13, 2017. Behind Stalsitz's seven, Farole, Fialova and Ruhland each registered three.
The Golden Bears will head north to New Haven, Conn., for a Friday afternoon tri-match with host Southern Connecticut State (3 p.m.) and Bridgeport (5 p.m.).
