STORYLINE
The Bloomsburg University women's volleyball team travels to the state of West Virginia for four matches in two days. The Huskies will play in Elkins, West Virginia, on Friday against Davis & Elkins and Alderson Broaddus and then will head to Buckhannon, West Virginia, on Saturday for contests against Virginia Union and West Virginia Wesleyan.
NEW LOOK
With the addition of Shepherd to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), the sport of volleyball restructured its divisions. The Central Division will consist of East Stroudsburg, Kutztown, Bloomsburg, and Lock Haven while the Northwest Division features five teams - Gannon, Clarion, Edinboro, Mercyhurst, and Slippery Rock. The Southwest Division boasts Seton Hill, Pitt-Johnstown, Cal U, and IUP, and the Southeast Division will consist of Shippensburg, Shepherd, Millersville, and West Chester. The four division winners will earn an automatic bid to the PSAC Volleyball Championship while the next four best records will earn at-large spots.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Last season, Bloomsburg defeated both of Saturday's opponents - Virginia Union and West Virginia Wesleyan. The victory against Virginia Union was an historic one for the Huskies as it was the program's first-ever win while their defeat of West Virginia Wesleyan was a hard-fought four-set victory at the Cal U Tournament. The Huskies have never played against either of Friday's opponents - Davis & Elkins or Alderson Broaddus.
SCOUTING BLOOMSBURG
Bloomsburg is off to a 3-5 start to the 2019 campaign - already halfway to its win total during the program's inaugural season a year ago. Last weekend, the Huskies went 2-2 at the Post University Tournament with victories over Felician (for the second time this season) and Post. Sophomore
Grace Giza (Plymouth, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) had a big weekend for the Huskies by hitting .250 with 44 kills and 19 total blocks in the four matches. Junior
Alyssa Cianciulli (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II) totaled 105 digs over the weekend and posted the 1,000th dig of her collegiate career - including stats from her freshman season at Division I La Salle University. In her Huskies' career, Cianciulli has 863 digs and has registered double figures in all 36 matches. Sophomore
Mary Kate Mooney (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II) leads Bloomsburg with 82 kills and is second with 85 digs. She has also contributed six aces and ten total blocks. Giza has 77 kills and leads the team with 31 total blocks. Her 0.94 blocks per set ranks 12th in the PSAC. Sophomore
Sydney Buell (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) is third with 59 kills while freshman
Julia Burcin (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) has 40 kills and ranks second with 28 total blocks. Freshman
Brooke Kratzer (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) and sophomore
Bryn Stek (Ambler, Pa./Upper Dublin) have split duties at the setter position with Kratzer leading the way with 142 assists while Stek has posted 120. The duo are also first and second on the team in aces with 15 and 12, respectively. Cianciulli leads the conference in digs per set (6.61) through the first two weekends of the year.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
All four of Bloomsburg's opponents this weekend have sub-.500 records on the young season. The Senators of Davis & Elkins and the Battlers from Alderson Broaddus are both one game under at 3-4 and 4-5, respectively. The Senators have one victory against a team from the PSAC as they knocked off IUP in five sets last weekend. The Battlers have played only one PSAC school and dropped a three-set decision to Shepherd on Saturday, September 7. Virginia Union is off to an 0-4 start to the year while West Virginia Wesleyan is 1-7 with its only win coming against Salem on September 7.
UP NEXT
The Huskies will be on the road yet again next weekend as they open conference play against the three PSAC schools located in the northwest corner of the state. Bloomsburg will open league play at Mercyhurst on Thursday, September 26, at 7:00 p.m. before taking on Edinboro on Friday, September 27, at 4:00 p.m. The Huskies will conclude the road trip on Saturday afternoon, September 28, at Gannon for a 2:00 p.m. start.
