Box Score

EAST STROUDSBURG – Sophomore Sarah Smith, sophomore Sam Dunphy and senior Desiree Claxton each produced double-doubles, but East Stroudsburg University came up on the short end of a five set marathon with Slippery Rock at Koehler Fieldhouse on Friday night.

The Rock (11-15, 3-11 PSAC) claimed the final two sets to rally from a 2-1 deficit. Final set scores were 25-16, 20-25, 20-25, 25-21, 15-11.

Smith totaled 18 kills and 19 digs for her sixth double-double in the past eight matches. Dunphy's double-double was the first of her ESU career, as she matched a career high with 14 kills and established a new career best with 16 digs. Claxton chipped in 15 kills and 12 digs for the Warriors (14-11, 5-9 PSAC).

After a rocky first set, ESU held the visitors to hitting percentages of -.111 and .023 in the following two frames to jump ahead in the match. Slippery Rock then pulled ahead 19-11 in the fourth set, but Claxton powered in five kills during a 9-1 run which leveled things up at 20-20.

Shayla Ray responded for SRU with three kills during a 5-1 stretch to send the match to a decisive fifth set. Ray and Lamija Alisic each supplied a team-high 13 kills overall for the visitors.

Senior Erica Cunningham started off the fifth set with a sneak attack kill from the setter position, but the Rock won each of the next six points to take a commanding lead. ESU pulled within two points on four separate occasions, the last of which came at 9-7, before Slippery Rock responded again to claim the next five points and ultimately close out the win.

Both liberos finished with impressive dig totals, as SRU's Courtney Oberlander finished with 41 digs and senior Rosa Veliky tallied 32 for the Warriors. Veliky surpassed 30 digs in a match for the first time this season.

After being held without a block in the opening set, ESU ended the night with a 9-5 edge in that category. Sophomore Jasmine Williams led the way with six rejections, while Smith added five.

The Warriors fall to 0-4 in five set matches this year. They will look to rebound on Saturday, as Edinboro and Mercy head to Koehler Fieldhouse for a tri-match. ESU hosts Edinboro at 12 p.m. and Mercy at 5 p.m., while Mercy and Edinboro will play each other at 2:30 p.m.