KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Kutztown volleyball split a pair of matches Saturday inside Keystone Arena to finish off the Shannon Sullivan Memorial Tournament with a winning 2-1 record after taking its Friday match.
The Golden Bears (3-3 overall) began the tournament with a 3-1 victory over Bowie State Friday and ended the weekend with a 3-0 sweep of Caldwell for their two victories. Earlier Saturday afternoon, KU fell in straight sets to California (Pa.). Scores against the Vulcans was 23-25, 19-25, 16-25, while scores against the Cougars were 25-16, 25-8, 25-22.
Paige Skinner (Placerville, Calif./Ponderosa) led the attack in kills in both matches, finishing with 26 kills, 16 in the opener and 10 in the latter.
Madilyn Bogovic (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cedar Cliff) also had a good day offensively with 16 kills.
Emma Baldridge (Damascus, Md./Damascus) facilitated the offense with 49 assists.
Saige Thibodeaux (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida S. Baker) paced the defense with 27 digs.
The Maroon and Gold continue their resurgence this season under new head coach
Jason Barshinger. They lost all three matches in the Shannon Sullivan Memorial Tournament last season, but took two-of-three this season and now have three victories through six matches so far.
After falling to the Vulcans in a three-set battle that could've gone either way, the Golden Bears responded in front of their home crowd and kept the positive momentum of 2025 moving forward.
In the middle of the first set, Kutztown led 11-10 and extended it with five of the next six points and was out in front by at least four points the rest of the way. KU put the pedal to the medal in the second set and answered a 3-2 early deficit to rally for eight points in-a-row and continued to pour it on the rest of the way. The Golden Bears never trailed in the third and final set and found themselves on top 14-5 with a 6-0 run in the middle of the set to conclude the weekend as victors.
Kutztown will next be in action next weekend when it competes in the D'Youville Tournament in Buffalo, N.Y. KU will first take on Frostburg State next Friday, Sept. 19, at 3 p.m. On Saturday, the Golden Bears play Assumption at 2 p.m., followed by Slippery Rock at 4 p.m.
