Box Score

EAST STROUDSBURG – Junior Desiree Claxton had 15 kills, 15 digs and four of ESU's season-high 15 aces, but West Chester was able to rally for a 3-2 victory over East Stroudsburg University at Koehler Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon. Set scores were 25-17, 21-25, 15-25, 25-21, 19-17.

Sophomore Tina Predojevic supplied a team and career-high five aces for the Warriors (11-14, 3-8 PSAC), who played in their longest match since a 3-2 setback to Southern Connecticut (25-17, 21-25, 25-20, 16-25, 22-20) on Sept. 22, 2013. The 15 aces were the most for the program since ESU managed 17 against Cheyney on Oct. 25, 2013.

Karleigh Lutz  (12 kills, eight digs) was the lone player to reach 10+ kills for the Golden Rams (17-7, 5-6 PSAC), who moved two games ahead of the Warriors for first place in the PSAC Southeast division.

Predojevic also registered 20 digs, her second-highest output of the season, and a career-high 32 assists. Junior Rosa Veliky had a career-high 25 digs and freshman Sarah Smith chipped in 13 kills, eight digs and five blocks (1 BS, 4 BA).

With a 13-10 lead midway through the first set, West Chester went on a 7-0 run to ensure that the visitors would start the match with a 1-0 set advantage.

ESU then found itself trailing 13-10 in the second set, but back-to-back aces from Predojevic highlighted a 4-0 spurt which gave the Warriors a one-point edge. Holding on to a 17-16 lead later on, ESU won five-straight points, including four on the serve of junior Maddie Reichard, to open up a commanding 22-16 margin. A Predojevic kill clinched the set shortly afterwards.

Reichard came up big for the Warriors on the service line all afternoon, and she finished with three aces in the contest.

A 7-0 run, with six points won on the serve of Claxton, forced an early third-set timeout from the Golden Rams with the visitors trailing 9-3. West Chester pulled within three at 14-11, but ESU used a 5-1 stretch to regain a comfortable advantage, and a Golden Ram attack error wrapped up the set at 25-15.

The Warriors trailed by a wide margin for the majority of the fourth set, with West Chester up 19-12 through the first 31 points. A kill from senior Hanna Bergen, though, began a thrilling 8-1 run capped by another Predojevic ace to knot the set up at 20-20. The Golden Rams, however, responded with a 5-1 run of their own to force a decisive fifth set, ESU's fifth of the season.

A block by freshman Sam Dunphy and freshman Jasmine Williams put the Warriors three points away from victory at 12-8. ESU led 13-9 in blocks overall, led by seven assists from Bergen, five from Dunphy and five from Williams. Bergen now has 19 blocks in the past four matches after matching her career-high total today.

West Chester won five of the next six points to tie the score at 13-13. ESU had match points at 14-13 and 17-16, but the visitors claimed the final three points, the last of which on a kill from Amy Kovacs, to escape with a victory.

Today marked the first time that the Warriors had pushed the Golden Rams to five sets since the 2008 season.

Claxton reached 15 kills and 15 digs for the third time this season, and she now has six double-doubles on the year (25 for her ESU career).
The Warriors return to the court next weekend, remaining at Koehler Fieldhouse for two PSAC matchups. ESU hosts Gannon at 7 p.m. Friday and Mercyhurst at 1 p.m. Saturday.