Women's Volleyball | 9/20/2018 1:08:00 PM

THE DETAILS
Bloomsburg (4-7, 0-2 PSAC Central) vs IUP (4-11, 0-2 PSAC Southwest)
Friday, September 21 - 7:00 p.m.
Nelson Field House - Bloomsburg, Pa.

Bloomsburg vs Clarion (10-4, 1-1 PSAC Southwest)
Saturday, September 22 - 12:00 p.m.
Nelson Field House - Bloomsburg, Pa.
 
GAME COVERAGE
Live Video (BOTH DAYS) - CLICK HERE
Live Stats (BOTH DAYS) - CLICK HERE

RELATED LINKS
Bloomsburg - Schedule | Roster | Statistics
IUP - Schedule | Roster | Statistics
Clarion - Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
STORYLINE
The Bloomsburg University women's volleyball team will be looking to win their first conference matches over the weekend as the Huskies play their first-ever Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) home contests at Nelson Field House. Friday night's opponent for the Huskies are the Crimson Hawks of IUP who come in with an overall record of 4-11 and an 0-2 mark in the PSAC Southwest Division. Bloomsburg will then host Clarion (10-4, 1-1 PSAC Southwest) on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Eagles play at Lock Haven on Friday night.
 
HISTORY
Back in March of 2017, Bloomsburg University 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 University from 2011-15. In his four seasons as the head coach at Lock Haven, Kreiger guided the Bald Eagles to an 88-49 overall record and a 55-30 mark against PSAC opponents. Under Kreiger, Lock Haven qualified for the PSAC Tournament in each of his four years at the helm and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2012. The program earned PSAC Eastern Division regular season titles in 2012 and 2014 and was the tournament runner-up in 2012.

Bloomsburg's inaugural roster features 28 student-athletes broken up into 23 freshmen, two transfers, and three former members of the Bloomsburg club team. Last month, the Huskies were picked to finish fourth in the PSAC Central Division 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 oppoent - 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.
 
SCOUTING BLOOMSBURG
The Huskies are looking for their first victory in PSAC play after losing both matches during the conference-opening weekend last Friday and Saturday at Seton Hill and California (Pa.), respectively, which dropped their record to 4-7 overall and 0-2 in PSAC play. Against Seton Hill, the Huskies stayed competitive but eventually fell in straight sets, 3-0. Freshmen Mary Kate Mooney (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II) and Grace Giza (Plymouth, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) led the Huskies in kills with eight each while redshirt senior Sarah Gomish (Ebensburg, Pa./Bishop Carroll Catholic) tallied seven. Freshman Emma Van Arsdale (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) totaled 22 assists. Sophomore Alyssa Cianciulli (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II) paced Bloomsburg defensively with 16 digs. Gomish provided history in the match at California last Saturday as her 15 kills were enough to see her total 1,000 kills in her collegiate career. The Huskies, however, fell at California three sets to one despite winning the first set. Mooney also contributed 15 kills while Van Arsdale racked up 38 assists. Defensively, Cianciulli totaled 40 digs on the night to lead the Huskies, bringing her total to 260 digs on the season. She ranks second in the PSAC in digs per set (7.22). Gomish leads the Huskies in kills with 145 and continues to lead the PSAC in kills per set (4.14). Gomish, including her three seasons at Lock Haven, now has 1,012 kills for her career and is also closing in on 1,000 career digs as she currently ranks second on the team with 107 to bring her to 864 for her collegiate career. Mooney is second with 101 kills on the season while freshman Sydney Buell (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) is third with 62. Van Arsdale leads the team in assists (322) and service aces (20). She ranks third in the conference in aces per set (0.57) while ranking ninth in assists per set (9.20).
 
SCOUTING IUP
IUP comes into Friday's match with a 4-11 overall record and an 0-2 mark in the PSAC Southwest Division. The Crimson Hawks are on a four-match losing skid and have not won since a straight-sets victory over Southern New Hampshire on September 8. IUP last played on Tuesday night and fell in straight sets to 19th-ranked Wheeling Jesuit. Kylie Osborn leads the team with 122 kills on the season while Jessica Ignace, who had a team-high nine on Tuesday night, is second with 103 kills. Dominica Niccolai serves as the team's setter and has posted 350 assists on the year. She also leads the team with 12 service aces. Defensively, Jess Marut leads with 261 digs - an average of 5.33 digs per set which puts her in fifth place among conference leaders in that category. Jasmine Raudys leads with 35 total blocks while Ignace is second with 33.

SCOUTING CLARION
Clarion, which plays at Lock Haven on Friday night, has started their season strong posting a 10-4 record with a 1-1 record in the PSAC Southwest Division. The Golden Eagles split their conference-opening weekend notching a victory over Pitt-Johnstown, 3-1, before losing to Shippensburg in straight sets, 3-0. Julia Holden leads the team in kills with 183 while Lauryn Driscoll, Aubrey Wrona, and Olivia Olson have over 100 kills with 118, 115, and 113, respectively. Holden is third in the PSAC in kills per set (3.98). Leah Vensel has notched 501 assists on the year - good for third-most in the PSAC. She is also third in assists per set (10.66). Chrissy Cotton leads the team, and the PSAC, in total digs with 327. She is third in the PSAC in digs per set (6.96).Olson also leads the team in blocks with 52 (second in the PSAC) while Driscoll leads in service aces with 19.

UP NEXT
Bloomsburg will be on the road next Friday, September 28, and Saturday, September 29, when they take on West Chester and Millersville, respectively. The Huskies will return home on Tuesday, October 2, to host Lock Haven University at 7:00 p.m.

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