EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg University volleyball team's impressive third season came to a close Tuesday night in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) quarterfinals as the Huskies nearly pulled out the upset of the top-seeded East Stroudsburg University. The No. 4 Huskies battled back from a 2-0 deficit but the Warriors ultimately claimed the 3-2 win. With the loss, the Huskies end their season at 12-17 while the Warriors improve to 18-9 for the year.
 
The Warriors jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the match as ESU took the first set 25-13 and the second set 25-21. The Huskies battled for each point and fought for a 25-22 win in the third. With the score tied 11-11 in the fourth, the Huskies broke out a 7-1 run to take an 18-12 lead. The run was highlighted by three-straight kills by senior Mary Kate Mooney (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II).
 
ESU closed the gap to four points, but that would as close as the Warriors got as Bloomsburg closed out the set with a kill from junior Shayna Warfel (Lancaster, Pa./Penn Manor) to seal the 25-19 win. The Huskies raced out to a 3-1 lead to open the fifth set thanks to a kill from senior Grace Giza (Plymouth, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) and Mia Nicoles. After a kill from Kaylee LoPresto cut the score to 3-2 in favor of BU, Giza pushed the lead back to two points with another kill. The two teams went back and forth until ESU tied the game at 10-10 and took the lead for good at 11-10. A service ace from Ali Finch pushed the lead to 12-10 but Gina cut the lead back to one, 12-11, with another kill. Once again, East Stroudsburg answered to take a 13-11 lead but a Warriors' service error gave the Huskies a sideout and trailing by just one point, 13-12. The Warriors closed out the set and match with two straight kills to claim the quarterfinals victory.
 
Mooney led the Huskies with 11 kills while senior Sydney Buell (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) was right behind her at 10 and Giza had nine. Giza had an impressive all-around day at the net as she hit .286 for the match with just one hitting error to go with her nine kills on 28 attempts. She added three solo blocks and a block assist as well as four digs.
 
Graduat student Alyssa Cianciulli (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II) posted 32 digs in the final match of her career at BU. She pushed her season total to 749 digs, besting her previous career-best and the program's record of 748 digs in a season. She collected 2,142 digs in just three seasons with BU.
 
Senior Bryn Stek (Ambler, Pa./Upper Dublin) dished out 26 assists while sophomore Ayden  Espinal finished with 16 assists.
 
The Huskies conclude their season 12-17 and posted a 6-9 slate in the conference championship game on Tuesday at 3:00 pm.