Box Score

EAST STROUDSBURG – After another dominant performance at the net, it was fitting that East Stroudsburg University sealed Friday's victory with a block.

Junior Sam Dunphy and redshirt sophomore Trea-sure Ketter teamed up for the last of 16 blocks on match point, as the Warriors topped defending PSAC champions Pitt-Johnstown by a 3-1 final at Koehler Fieldhouse. Set scores were 23-25, 25-18, 25-22, 26-24.

ESU (15-2, 5-0 PSAC) maintained its perfect conference record with a fifth consecutive victory, and the Warriors bested the Mountain Cats (7-9, 2-3 PSAC) for the first time since they joined the PSAC prior to the 2013 season.

Junior Sarah Smith came up one dig shy of her fourth-straight double-double, but she still managed 18 kills (.326 attack percentage), nine digs and five blocks in the win. ESU's 16 blocks tied a season-high; the Warriors entered the evening ranked fifth in Division II at 2.72 blocks per set.

"As a team we struggled early on from a hitting standpoint, but our block helped us out tremendously," head coach Kevin Rodgers said. "Having 16 blocks in a match, that's four extra points a set where we don't have to worry about defense, we don't have to worry about getting a kill. It's a big boost for us, and I think it's the reason we won tonight."

ESU hit only .156 as a team in the opening set, but that percentage rose to .333 and .256 in the following two frames to allow the home side to recover from its early deficit. The Warriors used a 5-0 run to cap off the third set after facing a late 22-20 deficit.

Six of ESU's blocks occurred during a back-and-forth fourth set in which neither side led by more than three points.

Tied 23-23, a block by Smith and junior Jasmine Williams set up the Warriors' first match point. The Mountain Cats took the next rally to level the score again, but a Smith kill, followed by Dunphy and Ketter's clinching block sealed the win.

Williams matched a season-high with a team-best nine blocks for ESU, while Ketter totaled six rejections at the net.

Freshman Caylinn Davis added eight kills, 10 digs and three blocks. Senior Tina Predojevic had 15 digs, four blocks and two aces, and freshman Emily Meredith tallied a team-high 18 digs.

The Warriors face another stiff test on Saturday, as they host Shippensburg (15-2, 5-0) in a matchup of the final two unbeaten teams in the PSAC. The Raiders won their 14th straight match on Friday night, topping Kutztown by a 3-0 final. Saturday's contest will begin at 1 p.m. inside Koehler Fieldhouse.

Notes:

With tonight's victory, the Warriors are now 5-1 against teams which qualified for the NCAA Division II tournament in 2017.

ESU picked up its first win over UPJ since a 3-1 triumph in 2008. The Warriors improved to 3-10 lifetime against the Mountain Cats.