HTML BOX SCORE

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg University women's volleyball team concluded the program's inaugural season on Saturday afternoon with a hard-fought three-set loss against the Raiders of Shippensburg University who will be entering next week's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament as the second seed. The Huskies dropped the first set 25-23 and then lost the second and third sets by identical scores of 25-21 to wrap up their first year with a 6-22 overall record and a 2-16 mark in the PSAC Central Division. Shippensburg improved to 24-6 overall and 14-4 in conference action.

The scores were a far cry from the 25-12, 25-11, 25-12 defeat the Huskies suffered at Shippensburg back on October 12, certainly indicative of the vast improvement the team made from the start of the season to the end of the season and what should lead to excitement heading into year two next fall.

Redshirt senior Sarah Gomish (Ebensburg, Pa./Bishop Carroll Catholic) went out in style as she posted her 11th double-double of the season by leading the team with 14 kills and finishing second with 11 digs in her final collegiate match. The performance wrapped up a brilliant career as she totaled 1,195 kills and 1,046 digs in three seasons at Lock Haven and her final year at Bloomsburg combined. She recorded the 1,000th kill of her collegiate career on September 15 at California and then reached the same milestone in digs against Mercyhurst on October 26.

Freshman Mary Kate Mooney (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II) also hit double figures in kills as she finished with 12 while hitting .205 for the match. The duo combined for 27 of the team's 46 points on the afternoon. Freshmen Grace Giza (Plymouth, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) and Mia Nicholes (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) had five kills apiece while fellow freshman Molly Prior (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood) had the other three Huskies' kills. The trio also combined for three solo blocks and two assisted blocks on the day with Gomish collecting the other solo block.

Freshman Bryn Stek (Ambler, Pa./Upper Dublin) finished with 32 assists on the afternoon while sophomore Alyssa Cianciulli (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II) totaled a whopping 28 digs in three sets.

Shippensburg was led by Samantha Webber who finished with 12 kills and two assisted blocks. She also led the Raiders with a .375 hitting percentage on the afternoon. Gabriella Johnson added nine kills and ten digs while collecting a solo block and two assisted blocks. Johnson was one of four Raiders to finish in double figures in digs as he joined Emily Hangen (14), Morgan DeFloria (12), and Megan Forstburg (12) on the day. Hangen also led the team with 27 assists.

Bloomsburg hit .148 for the match and totaled 39 kills and 56 digs while Shippensburg hit .200 with 36 kills and 56 digs. Both teams had five total blocks on the afternoon.

In March of 2017, Bloomsburg announced that it was adding women's volleyball as a varsity sport and, three months later, the school hired Dan Kreiger to be the program's first varsity coach. Prior to coming to Bloomsburg, Kreiger spent five seasons – the last four as the head coach – at Lock Haven from 2011-15. The inaugural roster featured 28 student-athletes broken up into 23 freshmen, two transfers, and three former members of the Bloomsburg club team. The Huskies were picked to finish fourth in the PSAC Central and, on August 13, the team held its first official practice. Bloomsburg played its first-ever match on August 31 against Grand Valley State and, after suffering a loss to the Lakers, earned the program's first victory with a 3-1 win over Virginia Union later that day. Then, on September 4, the Huskies played their first-ever home match against Chestnut Hill and swept the Griffins in straight sets. On September 8, the Huskies competed against their first nationally-ranked opponent - the then #1 team in the country, Nebraska-Kearney - and gave the Lopers a hard-fought effort despite an eventual three-set loss. The Huskies played their first PSAC match on September 14 when they lost at Seton Hill in a competitive three-set contest. Bloomsburg earned the first PSAC win in program history on October 5 with a straight-sets home victory over Kutztown and then earned its first-ever inter-divisional win, first-ever road win, and first-ever five-set win at Lock Haven on Tuesday night, October 30.

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).