EAST STROUDBSURG – Despite holding a 2-0 lead in the match, the East Stroudsburg University volleyball team hung on to defeat Shepherd in a thrilling five-set PSAC Quarterfinal match on Tuesday night inside Koehler Fieldhouse. The set scores were 25-18, 25-13, 19-25, 22-25, 15-7.
The Warriors, who defeated the Rams for the third time this season and second time in as many days, pushed their record to 22-6 overall while Shepherd (14-15) saw their 2023 season come to an end.
ESU had four players finish with double figure kills led by a monster match from
Kaylee LoPresto as the senior recorded a career-high 22 kills on a .340 hitting percentage to go along with nine digs, three assists and a block.
Three-time PSAC Athlete of the Week
Anna Coulter totaled 14 kills (.355 H%) as well as a trio of blocks and two aces.
Claire Choloux registered her third double-double of the season and first since September 15 as the graduate student finished with 11 kills and 13 digs as well as one ace. Senior
Sydney Stone added 11 kills and three digs.
Notables vs. Shepherd
- Reigning PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week Taylor Haan notched her third consecutive double-double, 10th of the season and finished slightly shy of a triple double as the junior had 49 assists, 17 digs, six kills and block. Haan continued to close in on the top-10 for career assists at ESU as the Phoenix native has 1,163 and counting.
- Getting the start, sophomore Ava Hunt registered three kills, a trio of solo blocks and a dig
- Leading the team with 18 digs, Makayla Baca moved closer to 1,000 for her Warriors' career as the senior is up to 928 headed into Friday's semifinal match. The Santa Fe, New Mexico native logged her first career double double as she added 10 digs as well as an ace. Junior Makalea McComas had 13 digs and an assist.
- Shepherd had a trio of players notch double digit kills including Joi Fairweather (15), Amaya Davis (13) and Rene Killough (11). Victoria Nicholes finished with a double-double on 35 assists and 15 digs to go along with six kills while Jordan Pryor added nine kills and 12 digs.
- In a tightly contested match, the Warriors outhit the Rams .266-.176 and Shepherd held the advantage in blocks (10-7), but aces were dead even (4-4)
- ESU improved to 25-18-3 all-time in the PSAC Tournament and have now defeated Sheperd in seven of the 10 meetings dating back to 2019
How it Happened vs. Shepherd
- Shepherd raced out a 7-3 lead in the first set until the Warriors battled back with a 5-0 run to go ahead 8-7. After the Rams tied it up at 10-10, ESU ripped off eight of the next 10 points to grab an 18-12 advantage. The Warriors were in control the rest of the way as ESU closed out the set at 25-18 for a 1-0 lead in the match.
- ESU carried over momentum into the second set as the Warriors got out to a 9-4 lead before a Shepherd timeout. Out the break, the Rams were able to make the score 14-10, until ESU finished off the set on a 11-3 run (25-13) to secure a 2-0 advantage in the match.
- After the Warriors were ahead 6-3 in the third set, Shepherd fought back with a 5-1 run to take the lead at 8-7. With the Rams still in front at 12-11, ESU responded with a 3-0 spurt to regain the edge at 14-12. However, Shepherd would score eight of the next points, forcing the Warriors into a pair of timeouts while taking a 20-16 lead. The Rams ultimately staved off the sweep with a 25-19 set three victory.
- It was neck and neck in the fourth set with neither team able to go ahead by more than two points as the score was deadlocked at 18-18. Out of a timeout, Shepherd capped off the set with a 7-4 run, which included scoring the final three points (25-21) to force a winner-take-all fifth set.
- ESU had a big time response in the fifth set as the Warriors opened with a 4-0 lead and 6-1 edge before a timeout by Shepherd. The Rams got as close as 8-4 until the Warriors ended on a 7-3 run to win the set (15-7) and match (3-2).
Up Next
With a victory ESU advances to face No. 1 (W) Gannon on Friday evening at 5 p.m. inside Heiges Field House on the campus of Shippensburg University for a PSAC Semifinal match
