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BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg University women's volleyball team put up a strong fight on Saturday night but eventually succumbed to visiting East Stroudsburg University in four sets at the Nelson Field House. The Huskies took the first set, 25-17, but the Warriors rallied to win the next three sets - 25-16, 25-18, 25-17 - to claim the victory. With the loss, the Huskies dropped to 5-13 overall and 1-8 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Central Division. East Stroudsburg improved to 17-4 overall and 7-2 in the PSAC Southeast Division.

Redshirt senior Sarah Gomish (Ebensburg, Pa./Bishop Carroll Catholic) and freshman Mary Kate Mooney (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II) tied for the team-high with eight kills apiece while freshmen Grace Giza (Plymouth, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) and Molly Prior (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood) chipped in with six each. Freshmen Bryn Stek (Ambler, Pa./Upper Dublin) and Emma Van Arsdale (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) had 18 and 16 assists, respectively, while sophomore Alyssa Cianciulli (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II) collected a team-high 27 digs on the defensive end. Van Arsdale added 10 digs to give her a double-double for the second time this season.

East Stroudsburg scored the first point of the opening set but the Huskies scored the next three and never trailed the rest of the way to win the first set, 25-17. The Warriors closed to within 8-7 before the Huskies rattled off five straight points to extend the lead to 13-7. Mooney had a kill and Prior had back-to-back service aces to aid the Bloomsburg offense. The Huskies then built the lead to as many as seven, 20-13, after a pair of kills from Gomish and one from Prior to force an East Stroudsburg timeout. The Warriors got as close as four, 21-17, before the Huskies scored the final four points to take the first set. Freshman Autumn Altland (East Berlin, Pa./Delone Catholic) had a pair of kills while freshman Meghan Gehr (Parkesburg, Pa./Garden Spot) had an ace to close out the set.

The second set was a battle of runs and, in the end, the Warriors tied the match with a 25-16 win. The visitors jumped out to a 6-0 lead before the Huskies scored eight of the next nine points to take an 8-7 lead. Cianciulli had a pair of aces while the Warriors hurt themselves with five hitting errors during the Huskies' run. East Stroudsburg followed with a 9-3 run to build up a 16-11 advantage before Bloomsburg scored four of the next six points to pull within three at 18-15. Freshman Mia Nicholes (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) had two kills while Giza added one in that stretch. But, the Warriors scored the next six points to take a 24-15 lead to essentially seal the win.

The Huskies never led in the third set as East Stroudsburg jumped out to a 10-1 lead at the outset. Bloomsburg did not go quietly, however, as it pulled to as close as four points on three different occasions but could not pull any closer as the Warriors took the third set, 25-18. The visitors had only two hitting errors in the third set while the Huskies had seven and hit only .049.

Bloomsburg, again, never led in the fourth set but stayed within striking distance early. The Warriors did their damage when they extended a two-point lead, 10-8, to nine at 19-10. The Huskies got as close as six but could not recover as East Stroudsburg closed out the match with a 25-17 victory.

The Warriors had four players reach double digits in kills led by Sarah Smith who had 18. Smith also led the visitors with 20 digs. Tina Predojevic had 43 of the team's 51 assists while five players registered at least two total blocks on the night. East Stroudsburg hit .270 on the night led by Jasmine Williams who had 10 kills and no errors in 17 attempts for a .588 hitting percentage. The Huskies, meanwhile, hit just .111 on the evening. The Warriors also won the battle at the net as they held an 8-3 edge in total blocks.

The Huskies will be on the road next Friday, October 12, and Saturday, October 13, when they head to Shippensburg and Pitt-Johnstown, respectively. Friday's contest starts at 7:00 p.m. while Saturday's matchup begins at 1:00 p.m.

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