Kutztown University Athletics

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – At the beginning of the day, Kutztown women's volleyball was in a four-way tie for first place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division. KU squared off against one of those other teams, Shepherd, on the road Friday night and was defeated in straight sets in Shepherdstown, W.Va.
 
The Golden Bears (16-4 overall, 4-2 PSAC East) lost for just the second time in six conference matches, by scores of 22-25, 14-25, 26-28. The Rams (16-2, 6-1) showed why they are one of those top teams in not only the East, but the PSAC altogether, as they finished with a 49-33 advantage in kills Friday and a .284 hit percentage, compared to KU's .144.
 
In the opening set, the Maroon and Gold never led. While they competed and forced six ties, they were never able to get out in front. They erased a 22-18 deficit with back-to-back points on a Rams' service error and a Grace White (Pennsburg, Pa./Quakertown) kill to climb to just 22-20, but the hosts recorded three of the next five points to grab the 1-0 lead. In the second set, Kutztown held its first lead of the evening, and when Madilyn Bogovic (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cedar Cliff) tallied an ace to put her team ahead 8-7, they looked to keep the momentum going. But Shepherd rattled off nine of the next 10 points, including eight in-a-row and never looked back. The Golden Bears showed much more life in set three and went on top by as many as five points (8-3) off back-to-back kills by Bogovic and White, but once again the Rams went on a 9-1 run to take back the lead. KU found itself just two points from a set victory at 23-21 after a Paige Skinner (Placerville, Calif./Ponderosa) kill, but SU tied the score at 23-23 and then finished off the visitors with two straight points when the score was tied 26-all.
 
Bogovic finished with a team-best 11 kills and added six digs, one block and one assist. Skinner totaled nine kills, 11 digs and two aces. Jaedyn Bartholomew (Schuylkill Haven, Pa./Blue Mountain) recorded five kills and two digs and White tallied four kills, two blocks and one dig. Emma Baldridge (Damascus, Md./Damascus) contributed 14 assists and two digs, while Abby Polo (Coventry, Conn./Coventry) had 12 assists. Saige Thibodeaux (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida S. Baker) added 18 digs.
 
Kutztown will head back home for an East matchup against Millersville tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 10, at 5 p.m., from Brandywine Heights Area High School. KU swept MU on the road two weeks ago.

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