PETERSBURG, Va. – The Bloomsburg volleyball team opened the 2025 season with a pair of loses to Pitt-Johnstown and Concord at the Virginia State Opening Weekend Invitational on Friday.
 
Bloomsburg (0-2) ended the day with 60 kills and 12 aces. Katie Kuehl (Aston, Pa./Archmere Academy (Del.)) led the team in kills with 15 while Marlee Johnson (Newville, Pa./Big Spring) followed closely-behind with 14. Emily Gustie (Crofton, Md./Crofton) also finished the day with double-digit kills (10) while notching a team-high 22 digs.
 
Defensively, middle blocker Lydia Worthing (Tyrone, Pa./Bellwood Antis) posted a team-high six blocks on the day.
 
Game 1 – Pitt-Johnstown 3, Bloomsburg 0 (25-27, 19-25, 23-25)
 
An attack error from the Mountain Cats gave the Huskies their first points of the season. After a response from UPJ, Kuehl recorded the maroon and gold's first kill of the season. The sophomore's kill began a 9-5 run that put Bloomsburg ahead 10-6. Pitt-Johnstown tied the game before beginning a back-and-forth exchange that saw five lead changes. A kill from Johnson late in the set put the Huskies ahead 25-24. The Huskies were unable close out the set, losing 27-25.
 
Pitt-Johnstown struck first in the second set before an early exchange moved the score to 3-3. A 6-0 run from the Mountain Cats gave UPJ the early momentum in the set as they took a 9-3 lead. Despite the best efforts of the Huskies, the early advantage provided Pitt-Johnstown a large enough cushion to take the second set, 25-19.
 
Bloomsburg capitalized on mistakes from its opponent early in the third, jumping to a 5-2 lead to start the set. A pair of errors from the Huskies pulled UPJ within one before a 7-3 run from the maroon and gold moved the score to 12-7. Bloomsburg was unable to hold onto its lead however, dropping the final set 25-23.
 
Kuehl finished the game with a team-leading 11 kills while tallying three digs and two blocks. Johnson recorded seven kills while Gustie notched five. Allison Saalfrank's (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) service ace moves her to 101 career aces, tying the program record.
 
Game 2 – Concord 3, Bloomsburg 0 (17-25, 21-25, 15-25)
 
A strong start from Concord put the Huskies down 5-1 early in the day's second game. A kill from Worthing and an ace from Hannah Robson (Charlotte, N.C./Arborbrook) gave Bloomsburg some momentum to close the gap. A four-point swing from the Mountain Lions pushed their advantage to 12-6  and allowed Concord to keep the maroon and gold at bay before taking the set, 25-17.
 
The second set started in similar fashion to the first, however the Huskies managed to stall Concord momentum and jump ahead to a 7-6 lead. The Mountain Lions responded with a 4-0 run to take a 10-7 led over Bloomsburg. Concord slowly extended its lead to 19-12, before a five-point run from the Huskies pulled the maroon and gold within two. The run saw a pair of aces from Jordan Pryor (Middletown, Md./Middletown) and kills from Johnson and Gustie. Bloomsburg was unable to complete the comeback, falling 25-21 in the second set.
 
Five kills and an ace early in the third set put the Huskies ahead 8-5 early in the set. However, Concord recorded eight unanswered points to take a 13-8 lead halfway through the set. Despite several chances, Bloomsburg could not close the gap in the final set, falling 25-15.
 
Johnson led the team in kills with seven while Sophie Wales (Port Matilda, Pa./State College) posted four kills and two solo blocks.
 
The Huskies are back in action on Sunday, September 6 as they take on Virginia State at 11:00 a.m. and Bowie State at 3:00 p.m.