KUTZTOWN, Pa. – It ended just as it should as Kutztown women's volleyball concluded its turnaround season in 2025 with a four-set victory over first place Shippensburg in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division match Saturday evening inside Keystone Arena on senior night.
 
Prior to the match, four senior members were recognized for their hard work and dedication, including Maddie Ruhland (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove), Mallory Hoch (Zionsville, Pa./Southern Lehigh), Tessa Van Dam (Little Falls, N.J./Passaic Valley) and Emma Stalsitz (Allentown, Pa./Parkland).
 
The Golden Bears won for the third time in-a-row and were victorious in five out of their last six matches to end the season, winning by scores of 15-25, 25-12, 26-24, 25-23. They finished 15-13 overall and 7-7 in the PSAC East, the most wins in a season since 2011. In back-to-back nights, they took down Shepherd, the current third seed in next week's PSAC Tournament, and the Raiders (20-8, 12-2), who entered the night at the top of the standings, but slipped to the second seed because of the inspiring play of head coach Jason Barshinger's group.
 
It's the first win over Ship since the 2022 season.
 
Kutztown finished tied with the fourth seed West Chester (19-9, 7-7) for the last spot in the postseason, but since the Golden Rams won both matches this season, they will play at PSACs. But the future is bright for the program, who will return a majority of the roster and all but one starter.
 
Just as happened against the Rams Friday night, the Maroon and Gold dropped the opening set, and by a wide margin. But just as they did last night, they responded. When it looked bleak, losing the first set to the first place team by 10 points, this Golden Bear group found the energy they needed and used a hyped up crowd in the stands to pull off three straight set wins, including a 13-point victory in set two to tie the match.
 
Just as they did all season long, outside hitters Madilyn Bogovic (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cedar Cliff) and Paige Skinner (Placerville, Calif./Ponderosa), along with setter Emma Baldridge (Damascus, Md./Damascus), led the attack, each finishing with double-doubles. Bogovic tallied 19 kills and 12 digs. Skinner recorded 16 kills and 16 digs. Baldridge netted 43 assists and 14 digs. Saige Thibodeaux (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida S. Baker) continued to show her defensive grit, totaling 35 digs, which is one shy of 10th all-time in program history in a single match. Lauren Montgomery (Norristown, Pa./Mount Saint Joseph Academy) had nine kills, Brianna Townsend (Salisbury, Md./James M. Bennett) contributed four kills and Grace White (Pennsburg, Pa./Quakertown) added three kills and tied a career-high with seven blocks.
 
The 2026 season should be one of even more success for Kutztown.

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