Women's Volleyball | 11/15/2021 5:07:00 PM

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg University volleyball team got the three-set sweep they needed of Kutztown on Senior Day last Saturday to claim the final spot in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament. The Huskies enter the tournament as the No. 4 seed in the East with their first appearance in the tournament in program history.
 
Game Information
Tuesday, November 16 • 7:00 PM
Koehler Fieldhouse • East Stroudsburg, Pa.
 
Admission
$10 for adults
$5 for student age & senior citizens
No admission charge for students who attend a PSAC institution
 
Game Coverage
Live Video
Live Stats
 
PSAC Volleyball Championship Central

The Game
The No. 4 Huskies travel to the top-seeded and returning PSAC champion, East Stroudsburg on Tuesday night. Bloomsburg comes into the game after defeating Kutztown University in straight sets last Saturday. The Warriors enter the contest on a nine-match winning streak to close out the regular season.  
 
The Series
East Stroudsburg owns a 5-0 all-time series lead over the Huskies with two wins this season. The Huskies fell in straight-sets to the Warriors at home last Friday but took East Stroudsburg to five sets on October 8 of this season. Bloomsburg won the first two sets but ESU came back to win the final three.  

Scouting the Huskies
The Bloomsburg volleyball team claimed its first ever spot in the PSAC Tournament after nabbing the No. 4 seed from the East. Bloomsburg enters the tournament with a 12-16 record and a 6-8 slate in conference play. The 12 wins are the most in a single season for the Huskies and the six PSAC wins are the most in a season for BU as well. The Huskies are led defensively by two-time PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week and the DII leader in digs per set, graduate student Alyssa Cianciulli (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II). Cianciulli has 717 digs this season and is averaging 7.03 digs per set. She recently hit the 2,000 dig mark for her career at BU.
 
At the net, senior Grace Giza (Plymouth, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) has 111.0 blocks this season while classmate Mia Nicholes (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) at 110.0 with 22 solo block and 88 block assists. The duo is averaging 1.08 blocks per set between the two of them.
 
Offensively, senior Sydney Buell (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) leads the team with 261 kills and is averaging 2.56 kills per set. Buell also leads the team with 42 service aces on the season. Senior Mary Kate Mooney (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II) is second on the team with 199 kills this season. Sophomore Liz Bopp (Ebensburg, Pa./Central Cambria) leads the team with a .199 hitting percentage on the year with 112 kills in 346 attempts and just 43 errors.
 
Sophomore Aydan Espinal (Rock Hill, S.C./Rock Hill) leads the team with 406 assists this season while senior Bryn Stek (Ambler, Pa./Upper Dublin) has dished out 384.
 
Scouting the Warriors
The Warriors enter the tournament with a 17-9 overall record and a 12-2 slate in PSAC East play. They are second in the PSAC in digs per set (19.00) and 11th in all of Division II. ESU is led by three-time PSAC Athlete of the Week Ali Finch. Finch has a team-high 189 kills, 753 assists, five triple doubles and is second on the team in digs (298) and blocks (78.0). The senior's five triple doubles ranks fifth nationally and among PSAC ranks, Finch is 10th in assists per set and 11th in total assists
 
Senior Emily Meredith paced ESU with 482 digs on the season and the 1,631 in her career are the third most in program history. Meredith is seventh in PSAC in total digs and digs per set (5.07). Senior Kenzie Guimont leads ESU with 84 blocks and is third on the team in kills (162). Kaylee LoPresto is second on the team in kills (166) and third in digs (207) 


Up Next
The winner of Tuesday's contest will take on the winner of the No. 2/No. 3 (West) Edinboro/Clarion match at the highest remaining seed on the East. On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 Shepherd and No. 3 West Chester (East) square off and No. 1 Gannon/No. 4 Cal U battle for a spot in the semifinals.
 
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