EAST STROUDSBURG – After falling behind 0-2 in their PSAC East opener, the East Stroudsburg University volleyball team rallied and claimed a five-set victory over Kutztown inside Koehler Fieldhouse on Friday night. The set scores were 19-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-19, 15-9.
The Warriors earn their 12th consecutive win over the Golden Bears (6-5, 0-1) dating back to 2016 and third straight victory overall to move to 7-7 on the season and 1-0 in the PSAC East.
Notables vs. Kutztown
- Redshirt junior Kaylee LoPresto recorded her second double-double of the season with 14 kills and 14 digs while adding three assists and an ace
- Junior Claire Choloux contributed nine kills and notched a season-high 22 digs
- Freshman Anna Coulter stuffed the stat sheet with eight kills, nine digs, six blocks and three aces
- Makaela McComas picked up her second double-double of the year as the sophomore collected 15 assists and 12 digs
- Sophomore Taylor Haan filled it up for the Warriors, recording three kills, 13 digs, six aces, two blocks and an assist
- Freshman Sydney Lewellin tallied 23 assists to go along with five kills, three digs and a block
- The Golden Bears outhit ESU by a slim margin of .147 (60 kills, 30 errors) to .134 (48 kills, 23 errors).
- The Warriors held the advantage in blocks (10-3) and aces (11-7), recording nine across the fourth and fifth sets
- With ESU trailing 19-12 in the fourth set, the Warriors scored the final 13 points to steal the frame and force a deciding fifth set
How it Happened vs. Kutztown
- With the score tied at 3-3 to begin the opening set, Kutztown pulled ahead 8-4 before the Warriors answered right back to knot it at 10-10. ESU would take a slight lead at 14-12 before the Golden Bears scored four of the next five points to jump back in front 16-15. Out of an ESU timeout it was all Kutztown as the Golden Bears proceeded to outscore the Warriors, 8-4, to earn a 25-19 set one victory and 1-0 lead in the match.
- Kutztown maintained no more than a three point lead early in the second set as the Golden Bears were up 13-10, before the Warriors used a 3-0 run to tie the score at 13-13. The Golden Bears answered right back with a 3-0 spurt of their own, but not before the Warriors scored five of the net six points to go back ahead 18-17. Not even a timeout by Kutztown could slow down ESU as the Warriors built their advantage to 21-17, before the Golden Bears proceeded to rattle off seven of the next eight points to steal a 25-22 set two win for a 2-0 advantage in the match.
- The Golden Bears got out to a 5-2 lead to open the third set, but the Warriors put together a 7-2 run to jump ahead 9-7. A timeout by Kutztown helped them pull back within one, however ESU strung together five of the next six points to stretch their edge to 15-10. With the Warriors in command 18-10, Kutztown rallied with a 6-1 run to get within striking distance at 19-16 and ultimately trimmed their deficit to 23-22. A timeout would help ESU settle down as the Warriors scored the final two points to stave of the sweep, 25-22, making the match 2-1 in favor of the Golden Bears.
- Kutztown rebounded in the fourth set, using eight kills to jump out to a 16-7 lead over ESU. However, the Warriors proceeded to put together of the most impressive runs, outscoring the Golden Bears 17-3 over the remainder of the frame which included the final 14 points to force a deciding fifth set with a 25-19 victory. During the stretch, Haan served a remarkable five aces.
- ESU carried that momentum over into the final frame, racing out to a 9-1 advantage over the Golden Bears. Kutztown wouldn't go down without a fight, clawing their way back to make the score 10-5 and 11-7 until the Warriors ultimately closed out the match 15-9 to pull off the reverse sweep.
Up Next
The Warriors head to West Virginia on Friday, Sept. 23 as they continue conference play against Shepherd at 7 p.m. from inside the Butcher Center.
