EAST STROUDSBURG – The East Stroudsburg University women's volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision at home on Friday night against Millersville University as the Marauders rallied after dropping the opening set to win the next three against the Warriors.
 
ESU (22-6, 12-3 PSAC) has dropped consecutive matches for the first time since the opening weekend of the season (Sept. 6-7) and just its second at home this season after losing 3-1 against Gannon on Oct. 4.
 
Senior Sarah Smith paced the Warriors with 19 kills and 25 digs as she hit .310 in the match. Senior Sam Dunphy added nine kills and 10 digs, while redshirt junior Trea-sure Ketter recorded eight kills and four total blocks. Senior Jasmine Williams tallied seven kills, while freshman Rachel Cain notched 42 assists and a pair of service aces.
 
Cain recorded both of her aces in the opening set as ESU raced out to a 4-0 lead against the Marauders. The Warriors took a 5-2 edge before Millersville rallied to knot the score 5-5 following a block from Carley Baughman and Jayci Suseland. Williams and Smith tallied back-to-back kills to give ESU the lead in the set as the Warriors wouldn't look back.
 
ESU stretched its lead to 16-12 following a 4-0 run that featured consecutive aces from Smith. The Warriors later used a 3-0 rally to push the advantage to 19-13 and later 22-14 following a kill by Cain. The Marauders made a late push in the set as a 3-0 rally trimmed the deficit to 24-18 before a service error secured the 25-18 victory for ESU.
 
Millersville took an early 5-2 edge in the second set before ESU rallied to eventually knot the score 6-6. Following consecutive kills by Ketter and sophomore Caylinn Davis, the Warriors cut the deficit to 14-12. The Marauders used a 3-0 run to gain a 17-12 edge following a block from Baughman and Suseland. The Marauders later increased the lead to 21-14 before eventually tallying a kill from Chyna Gubbings to secure the 25-20 victory and knot the match 1-1 with the Warriors.
 
After trailing a majority of the third set, ESU rallied to take a lead midway through the set against the Marauders. Back-to-back kills from Williams and Ketter gave ESU a 17-15 advantage in the set. The Marauders rallied to knot the score 20-20 and eventually take a 22-21 edge as they scored the final three points to secure the 25-21 victory in the set.
 
The two teams traded momentum early in the fourth set until the Marauders gained control as they looked to secure the match against the Warriors. ESU would get a kill from Smith to trim the deficit to 20-16 before Millersville tallied the next five points to win the set 25-16 and the match 3-1.
 
ESU will honor its 2019 senior class prior to its match on Saturday against West Chester at Koehler Fieldhouse. First serve is scheduled for 12 p.m. in the regular-season home finale for the Warriors, who finish the season with three matches on the road.