EAST STROUDSBURG – After outlasting the Jefferson Rams in five sets to start the day, the East Stroudsburg University women's volleyball team recorded a 3-0 sweep of Stonehill College to go 2-0 on the opening day of the ESU Invitational at Koehler Fieldhouse.
 
ESU (7-3) has won six of its last seven matches and got back into the win column after tallying a 3-2 victory against the Rams (25-11, 20-25, 25-23, 19-25, 15-12) in its first home match of 2019. The Warriors finished the day with a 25-10, 25-19, 25-22 sweep of the Skyhawks.
 
Senior Sarah Smith recorded 27 kills between both matches for ESU and added 15 digs. Senior Sam Dunphy added 15 kills, 19 digs, and a team-high five aces for the Warriors, while sophomore Jasmine Mooney tallied 15 kills and four digs. Sophomore Kayla Lugo guided the Warriors offense with 65 assists on the day to go along with 19 digs.
 
The Warriors opened the tournament with a 25-11 victory against Jefferson to take some early momentum inside Koehler Fieldhouse. Both sides would trade wins in the second and third sets as Jefferson knotted the match 1-1 before ESU rallied late in the third and turned a 21-19 deficit into a 25-23 victory following a block from Dunphy and senior Jasmine Williams.
 
Jefferson would extend the match to a fifth set following a 25-19 victory that evened the sets at 2-2. ESU took a four-point lead after back-to-back kills from Dunphy but would see that trimmed in-half by the Rams.
 
ESU increased its lead to 10-7 in the fifth set but saw the Rams rally for four-straight points to take an 11-10 advantage. With the set tied 11-11, a pair of kills from Williams and Smith along with an ace from freshman Jessica Irwin sealed the 15-12 victory for ESU.
 
The Warriors would come storming out of the gates in the first set against Stonehill as ESU hit .579 as a team with 12 kills to take the set 25-10 and a quick 1-0 lead against the Skyhawks. Stonehill would battle in the second and third sets as they dropped a 25-19 decision to the Warriors and rallied to keep the set close.
 
Stonehill trimmed an 18-14 deficit in the third set to 18-17 on the heels of a 3-0 run. The Skyhawks eventually knotted the score 19-19 before the Warriors used a 3-0 run of their own to go up 22-19. ESU closed the set and the match with a kill from sophomore Caylinn Davis that secured a 25-22 victory and a sweep of the Skyhawks.
 
ESU hosts Southern Connecticut and Caldwell on Saturday inside Koehler Fieldhouse on the second and final day of the ESU Invitational. The Warriors and Owls will face-off at 4 p.m. while the Warriors and Cougars match-up at 8 p.m.