KUTZTOWN, Pa. – It's been a little over eight years since Kutztown women's volleyball had defeated Shepherd, and KU had to rally twice down a set to walk off its home court victors Friday night in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division, five-set thriller inside Keystone Arena.
 
The Golden Bears (14-13 overall, 6-7 PSAC East) lost the first set and third set, but rallied each time to win three sets and get the better of the Rams (19-8, 8-5) by scores of 19-25, 25-16, 11-25, 26-24, 15-13. It's the first victory for Kutztown over Shepherd since Sept. 15, 2017, when KU also won in five sets. The 14 wins so far this season is tied for the most for the program since the 2014 campaign.
 
Paige Skinner (Placerville, Calif./Ponderosa) led the way for the Maroon and Gold with 21 kills and a season-high 18 digs. Madilyn Bogovic (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cedar Cliff) finished with 17 kills and a team-best 23 digs. Grace White (Pennsburg, Pa./Quakertown) had a career night with 15 kills and both Lauren Montgomery (Norristown, Pa./Mount Saint Joseph Academy) and Alex Haskins (State College, Pa./State College) recorded seven kills and three digs. Emma Baldridge (Damascus, Md./Damascus) tallied 53 assists and 14 digs. Saige Thibodeaux (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida S. Baker) had 12 digs and four assists. Mallory Hoch (Zionsville, Pa./Southern Lehigh) had 11 digs and Julia Riley (Secane, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) stepped up for Thibodeaux, who picked up an injury in the fourth set, and contributed eight digs and two assists.
 
After falling in the opening set, the Golden Bears quickly responded in a big way to take the second set, and they did the same thing in the fourth set after dropping the third. The key to the deciding fifth set was to get out in front early and KU did just that, going up 5-2 and 8-4, before switching sides of the court. The Rams rallied to tie the score at 10-10, but the Maroon and Gold were able to score five of the final eight points, highlighted by back-to-back Bogovic kills, to finish off the match.
 
Kutztown concludes its 2025 season at home tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 15, with a match against first place Shippensburg at 4 p.m., from Keystone Arena.

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