SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Just as it has done all season long, the Kutztown women's volleyball team showed fight and grit as it went toe-to-toe with the defending Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's East Division champs, Shepherd, on its home court Friday night, falling just short in four sets by scores of 25-22, 15-25, 15-25, 22-25.
 
The Golden Bears (8-8 overall, 1-2 PSAC East) were outhit in kill percentage .349 to .190, but were able to find a lot of their points via the service ace, finishing with 12, compared to six for the Rams (13-4, 3-2).
 
Paige Skinner (Placerville, Calif./Ponderosa) led the attack with 16 kills and added 11 digs, two assists and two aces. Lauren Montgomery (Norristown, Pa./Mount Saint Joseph Academy) finished with eight kills and three blocks. Madilyn Bogovic (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cedar Cliff) recorded seven kills and nine digs. Emma Baldridge (Damascus, Md./Damascus) tallied 33 assists and 11 digs and Saige Thibodeaux (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida S. Baker) contributed 20 digs and two assists.
 
Kutztown took the opening set using what it has all season so far, fight. KU rallied from down 17-11 to take a 19-18 lead. Mallory Hoch (Zionsville, Pa./Southern Lehigh) notched three service aces during that run, including one to put her team out front for the first time since the score was 3-2 early on. With the score tied 22-22, the Maroon and Gold tallied the final three points via a Skinner kill and two attack errors by the Rams to finish off the set and go ahead 1-0 in the match.
 
Shepherd, however, responded on its home court and won the next two sets 25-15 to flip the script and go ahead 2-1. In the fourth set, the Golden Bears played more like they did in the first set and came within just a few points of evening the match, but ultimately, Shepherd did just enough taking a 21-21 tie and scoring four of the final five points to seal the victory.
 
Kutztown is back in action for another PSAC East road match tomorrow. KU has a stretch of five consecutive PSAC road matches, with another Saturday, Oct. 11, at Shippensburg at 2:30 p.m.

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