KUTZTOWN – The East Stroudsburg University volleyball team saw its four-game winning streak come to an end as Kutztown grinded out a five-set victory on Friday night inside the Keystone Arena. The set scores were 25-19, 18-25, 25-19, 15-25, 9-15.
ESU drops to 12-9 on the year and 6-2 in the PSAC East, while the Golden Bears snap their 12 match losing streak to the Warriors to improve to 11-8 on the season and 5-3 in the conference.
Notables vs. Kutztown
- Junior Claire Choloux led ESU with her second double-double of the season on 11 kills and 15 digs, to go along with three assists, two blocks and an ace
- Redshirt junior Kaylee LoPresto also had double figures in kills with 11 while adding eight digs
- Sydney Stone stuffed the stat sheet for ESU, finishing with eight kills, 18 digs, a pair of assists and blocks
- Freshman Anna Coulter tallied seven kills, five digs and four blocks
- Makayla Baca record her 19th match this season with double digit digs, totaling a game-high 24
- Freshman Sydney Lewellin (20) and Makaela McComas (19) each posted double figures in assists
- The Golden Bears held a slight edge in hitting over the Warriors, .181 (59 kills, 27 errors) to .155 (46 kills, 23 errors)
- Kutztown's services caused the Warriors problems all night as the Golden Bears recorded 15 aces compared to five for ESU, who held the advantage in blocks (8-6)
How it Happened vs. Kutztown
- It was back and forth to begin the opening set but with ESU trailing by one, the Warriors used a 4-0 run to take a 9-6 lead. Out of a timeout, Kutztown battled their way back by tying the score on multiple occasions (9-9, 10-10, 12-12, 14-14), before the Golden Bears went in front 17-14 following a 5-0 spurt. The Warriors settled back in by scoring six of the next seven points to regain a 20-18 edge, and it was all ESU the rest of the way, as they closed at out the frame, 25-19, for a 1-0 lead in the match.
- Kutztown bounced back to begin the second set, leading 2-1, before ultimately going ahead 10-5. After an ESU timeout, the teams went on to trade the next 15 points as the Golden Bears maintained a five-point edge at 18-13. Following an extended technical issue, Kutztown would go on to earn the second set victory, 25-18, to knot the match at 1-1.
- With the score tied at 8-8 at the start of the third set, Kutztown tallied three quick points before the Warriors answered right back to even the score at 11-11. Similar to the previous frames, the teams swapped several points until the Golden Bears pulled ahead 18-16. A timeout helped ESU find their footing as the Warriors proceeded to go on a 5-0 to regain a 21-18 lead. ESU went on to finish off the Golden Bears in the frame, 25-19, for a 2-1 advantage.
- The Golden Bears responded in the fourth set, leading 5-2 before ESU clawed back to even the score at 6-6. Then with the teams knotted at 10-10, Kutztown proceeded to score five of the next six points to take a 15-11 advantage. Kutztown kept their foot on the gas the remainder of the frame, outscoring ESU 10-4 for a fourth set victory (25-15), which evened the match at 2-2.
- Kutztown carried their momentum over into the final set, jumping out in front 5-2 and 9-3, which forced the Warriors to burn their timeouts. The Golden Bears held off ESU over the remainder of the frame, earning a 15-9 triumph for a 3-2 victory in the match.
Up Next
- ESU returns to Koehler Fieldhouse next Friday when the Warriors welcome Shepherd at 7 p.m. for their Mental Health Awareness Game
