HTML BOX SCORE

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg University women's volleyball team made history on Friday night as the Huskies earned the program's first-ever Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) victory with a 25-22, 25-12, 25-21 win over visiting Kutztown University at the Nelson Field House. Bloomsburg snapped a seven-match losing streak and improved to 5-12 overall and 1-7 in the PSAC Central Division. The Golden Bears dropped to 6-11 overall and 0-8 in the PSAC Southeast Division. 

Redshirt senior Sarah Gomish (Ebensburg, Pa./Bishop Carroll Catholic) had a strong hitting night for the Huskies as she paced the team with 15 kills and a .364 attack percentage. She added eight digs and a solo block as she finished with a team-high 16 points. Freshman Grace Giza (Plymouth, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) continues to develop rapidly as she added eight kills, two solo blocks, and three assisted blocks en route to 11.5 points on the evening. Freshman Mary Kate Mooney (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II) chipped in with six kills and an ace offensively while fellow freshmen Bryn Stek (Ambler, Pa./Upper Dublin) and Emma Van Arsdale (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) had 18 and 11 assists, respectively. Defensively, sophomore Alyssa Cianciulli (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II) led the way with a match-high 25 digs to go along with seven assists and two aces. Freshmen Mia Nicholes (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) and Molly Prior (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood) joined Giza with more than one block on the night as the Huskies posted a season-high eight blocks.

Bloomsburg jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening set before Kutztown rebounded to take a five-point lead at 15-10. The Huskies, however, battled back to tie the set at 17-17 with a 7-2 run. Gomish led the way with three kills while Prior and freshman Autumn Altland (East Berlin, Pa./Delone Catholic) added single kills during the run. Bloomsburg took a one-point lead at 19-18 after an ace from Prior and then extended the lead to two at 21-19 when Nicholes posted a solo block. The Huskies maintained the lead and built it up to three at 24-21 on a block from Giza. After a Kutztown point, Giza closed out the first set with a kill for a 25-22 final.

With Stek serving to start the second set, the Huskies rattled off 11 consecutive points to take an 11-0 lead and never looked back en route to a 25-12 win. Gomish had a pair of kills while Giza, Nicholes, and Mooney added single kills during the hot start. Stek chipped in with a pair of aces and Giza and Nicholes combined on a block to account for eight of the eleven points to open the set. Bloomsburg continued to pour it on as it led 15-2 before Kutztown cut the lead to single digits, 15-6, with four consecutive points. With the Huskies still leading by nine at 21-12, the hosts closed out the set with four consecutive points. Gomish and Prior had kills, Cianciulli had an ace, and Prior and Giza combined for a set-ending block to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Huskies hit .367 in the second set while holding the Golden Bears to just an .083 percentage.

Kutztown jumped out quickly in the third set as it took an 8-3 lead and kept the lead at five, 15-10, before the Huskies made their run. A kill from Gomish, an ace from Cianciulli, and back-to-back kills from Giza and Stek pulled Bloomsburg to within one, 15-14, and forced a Kutztown timeout. The two teams went back-and-forth and, with the set tied at 21-21, the Huskies finished off the sweep with four consecutive points to close it out. Mooney gave the hosts a 22-21 lead with a kill which was then followed by a kill from Gomish, a block from Giza, and another kill from Gomish.

Bloomsburg hit .255 on the night - just the second time this season that the Huskies posted a hitting percentage north of .200 in a match. Bloomsburg also held a 7-0 advantage in service aces and an 8-3 edge in blocks. Kutztown, meanwhile, hit only .128 on the night despite hitting .205 in the third set. Holly Owen paced the Golden Bears with 11 kills while Brittney Moyer added nine. Abbey James led with 13 assists while Sydney Wilson had a team-high 11 digs.

The Huskies will look to start a modest winning streak when they host East Stroudsburg University at the Nelson Field House on Saturday night. Start time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Stay up to date with the Huskies all season long by following us on our official social media accounts: Twitter (@GoBUHuskies), Facebook (BUHuskies), and Instagram (BUHuskies).