HTML BOX SCORE

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg University women's volleyball hosted the program's first-ever home match on Tuesday night at the Nelson Field House and the Huskies did not disappoint the loud and boisterous crowd in attendance as Bloomsburg swept Chestnut Hill, 3-0, to improve to 2-3 on the young season. Bloomsburg shook off some early nerves to earn a hard-fought 25-22 victory in the opening set and then got stronger as the match went on, winning by the finals of 25-17 and 25-12 in the final two sets to close out the match. The Griffins dropped to 1-2 on the season.

Nearly 600 fans were treated to free t-shirts, sponsored by Wagner's Trophies, mini volleyballs, and a post-match autograph session with the members of the inaugural team on the historic night. The Bloomsburg University cheerleaders and marching band were also in attendance to provide some additional fanfare on the evening.

The Huskies took the first set, 25-22, by closing it out with three consecutive points - two on kills by freshman Mary Kate Mooney (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II). The opening set went back-and-forth with Bloomsburg grabbing its largest lead at 11-7 before the Griffins rattled off five of the next six points to tie the score at 12-12. The teams exchanged points the rest of the way with no lead, for either side, larger than one until the Huskies scored the final three points. Redshirt senior Sarah Gomish (Ebensburg, Pa./Bishop Carroll Catholic) fittingly scored the Huskies' first home point in program history with a kill off an assist from freshman Emma Van Arsdale (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington).

Bloomsburg went back to work in the second set, scoring four of the first five points to take a 4-1 advantage. The Griffins battled back to tie the set a 4-4 before the Huskies scored the next five points to take a 9-4 lead. Van Arsdale started the run with a kill, followed by a kill from freshman Noelle Chavey (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity), an ace from Van Arsdale, and kills from freshman Sydney Buell (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) and Gomish. The visitors, however, would not go quietly as they cut the Huskies' lead to 13-12 before back-to-back kills from Gomish extended the lead back to three. After Chestnut Hill, again, pulled to within one, Buell had a kill followed by an assisted block from Chavey and Gomish to extend the lead to 17-14. The Huskies then closed out the set by scoring eight of the next eleven points for the eight-point win and a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set was close early as Chestnut Hill had a 4-3 lead before the Huskies went on a tear. Bloomsburg scored 18 of the next 21 points to take a 21-6 lead and then settled for a 25-12 victory. The Huskies scored four consecutive points with freshman Katie McGonigal (Aston, Pa./Padua Academy) serving, then, after a Chestnut Hill point, scored five straight points with Van Arsdale serving. After a point by the Griffins, Gomish and freshman Ashley Wilkins (Center Valley, Pa./Southern Lehigh) held serve for nine points in a row to essentially seal it. The final point was scored on an error by Chestnut Hill which gave the Huskies the program's first win on their home floor. 

Gomish paced the Huskies with 15 kills and a hitting percentage of .312. Mooney added 12 kills while hitting .310 for the match. Buell chipped in with eight kills while Chavey and freshman Mia Nicholes (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) added five kills apiece. Sophomore Alyssa Cianciulli (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II) posted 22 digs to lead the Huskies while Van Arsdale had a strong all-around night with 37 assists, three kills, four aces, and three digs. As a team, the Huskies hit .330, including a .394 clip in the third, and final, set.

Corrine Kalala led the Griffins with seven kills while Kennedy Sutton posted 17 assists in a losing effort. Reilly Byxbee led Chestnut Hill with nine digs.

Bloomsburg will travel to California (Pa.) to compete in the two-day Vulcan Invitational on Friday, September 7, and Saturday, September 8. The Huskies are scheduled to compete against Southern New Hampshire and Notre Dame (Ohio) on Friday and then against the country's top-ranked team, Nebraska-Kearney, and West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday.

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).