NCAA Championship Central | ESU Press Conference (Video) | Box Score (html)

WHEELING, W.Va. – A magical season that saw the East Stroudsburg University women's volleyball program capture its first PSAC Championship since 1987 and qualify for the NCAA Tournament came to an end on Thursday. The Warriors dropped a 3-2 decision against Shepherd in the first round of the NCAA DII Women's Volleyball Championship.
 
ESU (29-7) set several program bests throughout the season and returned to the NCAA Tournament for just the second time and first since 2000. The Warriors also had their six-match winning streak snapped at the hands of the Rams.
 
The Warriors were paced by 14 kills from sophomore Jasmine Mooney, while senior Sarah Smith added 10 kills and 21 digs. Redshirt junior Trea-sure Ketter tallied 10 kills and nine total blocks in the match for ESU, while senior Sam Dunphy notched nine kills and 14 digs. Sophomore Emily Meredith added 24 digs, while freshman Rachel Cain tallied 36 assists.
 
ESU looked to complete the comeback in the opening set after trailing 21-12 against the Rams. A kill by Ketter started a quick 2-0 rally to trim the deficit to 21-14. Senior Jasmine Williams made it 22-17 as she capped a 3-0 run by the Warriors.
 
Trailing 23-17, ESU rallied to cut the gap to 23-22 following kills from Mooney and Williams. The Warriors knotted the score at 24-24 and 25-25 before the Rams tallied consecutive kills to secure the 27-25 victory and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
There would be just one lead change in the second set as ESU used a 4-0 run to take a 5-2 advantage. A kill from Cain increased the Warriors' lead to 16-9 before Shepherd rallied to cut the gap to 16-13. ESU tallied the final two points of the set off a block from Cain and Ketter followed by a service ace from Cain to secure the 25-20 victory.
 
Shepherd would lead from start to finish in the third set to take a 2-1 advantage in the match against the Warriors. The Rams used a pair 3-0 rallies late in the set to take a 23-15 lead against the Warriors. A kill from Seone Goode along with a block from Nicole Murray secured the 25-16 victory for Shepherd.
 
ESU would lead early in the fourth set until Shepherd used a 4-0 rally to knot the score 13-13. The Rams held a 19-18 lead in the set following an attack error before ESU used a 7-0 run to close the fourth set and tally a 25-19 victory.
 
The Warriors jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the fifth set before Shepherd answered with a 3-0 rally. The Rams would later use another 3-0 run to gain a 6-3 advantage. ESU trimmed the deficit to 6-4 off a kill from Mooney before the Rams notched consecutive points to take an 8-4 lead.
 
Trailing 13-7, ESU rallied to close the gap to 13-10 as Smith delivered a pair of kills. Shepherd would get a kill from Cambriea Hill followed by an ace from Hill to secure the 15-10 victory and the 3-2 win for the Rams.