BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg women's volleyball team had a quick turn around from the five-set match the night before and struggled for offensive consistency in the first two sets as visiting IUP needed four sets to defeat the Huskies, 3-1, Saturday afternoon. The Crimson Hawks improved to 5-13 on the year and 4-5 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action while the Huskies fell to 7-15 on the year and 2-8 in the PSAC.
 
IUP won the first two sets 25-15, 25-18 before Bloomsburg rallied for a 25-14 set three victory. The Crimson Hawks closed out the match with a 25-21 win in the fourth set.
 
Neither team could get any momentum going offensively in the first set until the Crimson Hawks scored three-straight points to take a 14-10 lead thanks to a service ace and a kill from Jessica Ignace. Sophomore Mia Nicholes (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) halted the run with a kill to cut the score to 14-11 but the Huskies couldn't get a run of thier own going as the Crimson Hawks and Huskies traded the next four points. IUP used another three-point run to push its lead to 18-12. Sophomore Mary Kate Mooney (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II) ended the run with her first kill of the match but IUP closed out the set with a 7-2 run to take the first set 25-15.
 
IUP raced out to a 7-3 lead in the second set but the Huskies kept battling and did not allow IUP to run away with the set. A Crimson Hawk attack error got the serve back to Huskies but it was short lived as the Crimson Hawks immediately answered with a kill to push their lead back to 8-4. The Crimson Hawks stifled the Huskie offense as they did not allow Bloomsburg to put together more than a two consecutive points for the rest of the set and closed it out with a kill from Ignace to win 25-18 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The Huskies offense came out hot in the third set as they quickly built a 7-3 lead before the Crimson Hawks got a pair of points back from a Bloomsburg service error and a kill from Jaden Fuller. Nicholes kicked off another four-point run for the Huskies with a kill and redshirt sophomore Olivia Pagano (Galeton, Pa./Galeton Area) bookended the run with a kill of her own. After the next three points went back and forth between the two teams, before the Huskies used a 5-1 run to push their lead to 17-8 and force an IUP timeout. The Crimson Hawks came out of the time out and got a kill from Nicole Peterson to start a 2-1 run for IUP as they cut the lead down to 18-11 in the third set. The Huskies then went on a six-point run to earn its first set point of the match but the Crimson Hawks staved it off three times before sophomore Grace Giza (Plymouth, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) ended the set with a kill off a set from classmate Bryn Stek (Ambler, Pa./Upper Dublin).
 
The Crimson Hawks jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the fourth set before the Huskies climbed back to tie it at 4-4 and eventually take a 7-5 lead. Bloomsburg maintained its lead until IUP tied it at 10-10 and after the set was tied two more times, the Huskies eventually took a 15-13 lead thanks to a kill from Stek. IUP responded, however, with a 3-0 run of its own to take a 16-15 lead. A pair of IUP attack errors gave the Huskies the lead back at 17-16. IUP used a four-point run to regain the lead, 20-17 and did not relinquish the advantage. The Crimson Hawks eventually took a 24-20 lead but a block from freshman Julia Burcin (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) and Giza kept the Huskies alive at least one more play. The Crimson Hawks ended the match however on the next play with a kill from Peterson to win 25-21 and take the match, 3-1.

Mooney and Burcin each finished the day with nine kills while Burcin chipped in five service aces and a pair of block assists. Giza added eight kills to go with a pair of block assists for Bloomsburg. Stek finished the day with a team-best 19 assists and had eight digs while sophomore Sydney Buell (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) added 14 assists. Sophomore Libero Alyssa Cianciulli (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II) posted 23 digs, had three assists, and one ace.
 
The Huskies take a break from conference play as they host Susquehanna on Wednesday in at 7:00 p.m. at Nelson Field House. The River Hawks enter the match with a 22-3 overall record and are currently ranked #25 in the latest AVCA Top 25 DIII Coaches Poll.