EAST STROUDSBURG – The East Stroudsburg volleyball team finished off the season sweep of Kutztown and extended its winning streak to 13 games as the Warriors defeated the Golden Bears in straight sets (25-10, 25-16, 25-14) on Friday night inside Koehler Fieldhouse.
The Warriors, who have now defeated the Golden Bears (8-12, 1-7 PSAC East) in 13 of the last 14 meetings, maintained an unblemished mark in the conference at 8-0 and pushed their overall record to 16-5 with six matches remaining.
During the 13-match win streak, the Warriors have knocked off 10 opponents in straight sets including the last five ESU has faced.
Tonight, ESU worked in conjunction with Soles4Souls, a non-profit organization that turns unwanted shoes and clothing into opportunity, to run their third annual shoe drive campaign. The drive extends into Saturday's football game vs. Bloomsburg and through the end of the month as fans are encouraged to bring new or gently worn shoes to donation boxes set up around campus.
Notables vs. Kutztown
- For the 13th time this season, Anna Coulter recorded double figure kills as the sophomore finished with a match-high 12 to go along with a .579 hitting percentage five digs, three blocks and an assist
- For the third straight match graduate student Claire Choloux notched double-digit kills with 10 while adding nine digs, one block and an assist
- Junior Taylor Haan continued to impact all areas of the game for ESU as she finished with 29 assists, eight digs, four aces, three kills and a pair of blocks
- Senior Sydney Stone added six kills, three digs and three blocks while fellow classmate Kaitlin Bruchhauser produced four kills.
- Reigning PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week Makayla Baca posted nine digs as the Santa Fe, New Mexico native continued to close in on 1,000 for her ESU career with 826 and counting. Junior Makaela McComas registered a team-high 11 digs.
- Kutztown was led by Saddie Doss with 10 kills and six digs while Gabriela Fialova posted nine kills and 10 digs
- The Warriors finished with an efficient .330 hitting percentage (38 kills, eight errors), which included a .406 (13 kills, 0 errors) mark in the second set while the Golden Bears recorded a .061 clip (25 kills, 19 errors)
- ESU held the advantage in blocks (6-2) and aces (8-2) after recording seven in the first two sets
How it Happened vs. Kutztown
- With ESU ahead 4-1 to start the match, the Warriors went on a 7-0 run using a trio of Kutztown errors, two kills and a pair of aces to increase the lead to 11-2. After a Golden Bears kill stopped the streak, ESU proceeded to score 10 of the next 13 points for a 21-6 advantage. The Warriors ultimately wrapped up the set 25-10 for a 1-0 lead in the match.
- With the score tied at 7-7, ESU ripped off four of the next five points to pull ahead, 11-8. Two quick points for Kutztown got the Golden Bears within one (11-10), but a 4-1 spurt by ESU helped the Warriors maintain a four-point edge at 15-11. The Golden Bears got as close as 15-12 and 17-13 before ESU scored eight of the final 11 points in the set to secure a 2-0 lead.
- Kutztown grabbed a 2-0 lead in the final set, but the Warriors answered quickly with a 7-1 run, which included five kills, to go up 7-3. Not even a Golden Bears' timeout could slow down the Warriors as ESU scored five of the next seven points to extend their lead to 12-5. Kutztown clawed back with a 7-4 spurt to make the deficit 16-12, until ESU closed out the match on a 9-2 run (25-14) to complete the three-set victory.
Up Next
Conference play continues next weekend as the Warriors head on I-80 to Lock Haven for a PSAC East match against the Bald Eagles at 7 p.m. inside Thomas Fieldhouse
