BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg volleyball team fell to Shepherd in a four-set, Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) bout inside the Nelson Field House on Friday night.
 
Bloomsburg (7-7, 0-2 PSAC East) battled Shepherd (11-4, 1-1) closely throughout the contest, finishing nearly even in every major statistically team category. Marlee Johnson (Newville, Pa./Big Spring) led the Huskies in kills (16) and aces (4). Katie Kuehl (Aston, Pa./Archmere Academy (Del.)) finished with double digit kills as well with 12. The setter duo of Jessica Rimbo (Lemont, Ill./Lemont) and Erin Clark (Gilbert, Ariz./Gilbert) posted 36 total assists with Rimbo notching 17 and Clark recording 16.
 
The Rams gained the early advantage as they jumped ahead to a 5-1 lead with kills form Emily Ryder and Sophia Ryan. A 7-3 run from the Huskies leveled the score at 8-8. The two sides then remained locked in a close back-and-forth for much of the frame before Shepherd surged ahead on a 7-1 run to make it 21-17. Three-straight attack errors managed to bring the maroon and gold within one before the Rams rattled off four-in-a-row to take the opening set, 25-20.
 
Bloomsburg took hold of the momentum early in the second as the Huskies saw themselves with a 7-2 lead early on. The maroon and gold continued to battle with the lead for much of the second set, as the Huskies surged ahead on short runs every time Shepherd came close to tying the game. Up 23-14, Bloomsburg saw itself allow five-straight points move the score to 23-19. A kill from Johnson and an attack error from Shepherd's Ryder closed out the set, 25-19, and even the contest at 1-1.
 
The third set opened with a pair of points from either side before a six-point run put Shepherd ahead 8-2. The Rams widened the gap slowly throughout the set, moving ahead to a 16-7 lead. Bloomsburg inched closer to the lead after back-to-back aces from Johnson. A late surge proved to not be enough as Shepherd took the third set 25-17.
 
Shepherd quickly shot out to a 4-0 lead to start the fourth set with kills from three different players. The Rams continued to push ahead to a 13-5 before the Huskies took the momentum. A service error from Shepherd's Sofia De Los Mozos kickstarted a 10-1 run the saw the Huskies take a 15-14 lead. The Rams quickly responded back with its own 5-0 run before eventually closing out the set 25-23.
 
Bloomsburg returns to action on Saturday, October 4 as they face off against Shippensburg at 11 a.m.