BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - After losing the first two sets, the Bloomsburg University women's volleyball team rallied to win the final three sets on Saturday as it stunned visiting Slippery Rock University - 23-25, 12-25, 25-20, 26-24, 15-12 - to earn its first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) victory of the season. The Huskies improved to 6-11 overall and 1-4 in the PSAC Central Division while The Rock dropped to 7-8 overall and 2-2 in the PSAC Northwest.

After a close first set that saw the visitors earn a hard-fought 25-23 win, Slippery Rock dominated the second set as it took advantage of a number of Bloomsburg miscues to take a 25-12 victory and to take a 2-0 lead in the match. Slippery Rock raced out to a 7-2 lead in the third set, but the young and resilient Huskies picked themselves up off the deck and forced a fourth set with a 25-20 win in the third. After falling behind early, the Huskies scored 15 of the next 20 points in the set to erase a five-point deficit and turn it into a five-point advantage. The teams exchanged points the rest of the way as Bloomsburg took control of the momentum.

The teams went back-and-forth in an epic fourth set as neither team led by more than three points. With the Huskies leading 24-21, The Rock scored the next three points to tie the set at 24-24 before Bloomsburg bounced back by taking advantage of a Slippery Rock error and a kill from sophomore Mary Kate Mooney (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II) to force a fifth and deciding set. The hosts led for much of the fifth set and led by as many as four points, 10-6, before Slippery Rock closed the gap to 12-11 to make things extremely interesting. A combined block from Mooney and sophomore Mia Nicholes (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) gave the Huskies a two-point lead before a blocking error brought The Rock back to within a point. However, Bloomsburg scored the final two points on a Slippery Rock service error and a kill from Nicholes to complete the stunning comeback.

Redshirt sophomore Olivia Pagano (Galeton, Pa./Galeton Area) led the Huskies with a career-high 12 kills and added a career-high four assisted blocks. It marked the first time that she reached double figures in kills in a match. Mooney added a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs while chipping in a pair of aces and a pair of assisted blocks. Sophomore Grace Giza (Plymouth, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) had nine kills and four assisted blocks.

Nicholes had three kills but posted a school-record eight assisted blocks as the Huskies dominated at the net against a shorter Slippery Rock squad. Sophomore Bryn Stek (Ambler, Pa./Upper Dublin) had a season-high 21 assists and also led the Huskies with four service aces. Sophomore Sydney Buell (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) provided a spark as she became a part of the setter rotation for the first time this season and had a career-high 12 assists to go along with nine digs. Junior Alyssa Cianciulli (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II) was all over the floor defensively as she broke her own school record with a whopping 54 digs while adding three aces. Her 54 digs marked the most by any player in the PSAC in a single match this season.

Slippery Rock had three players in double figures in kills - Abigail Koeller (16), Kaley Fucci (14), and Gabby Huck (11). It also had five players in double figures in digs led by Koeller's 31. Zoe Rivet had 48 assists and 17 digs.

Neither team hit particularly well as Bloomsburg hit .073 while Slippery Rock posted an .093 hitting percentage. The Rock edged Bloomsburg in kills, 50-42, and digs, 108-101. However, the Huskies took advantage of 11 service aces and dominated the net with 10 total blocks to Slippery Rock's three.