West Chester vs Millersville
Game Details: October 23 I 7 P.M.
Location: Hollinger Field House (West Chester, Pa.)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Video
Series: 35-32
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Millersville Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester halted a four-match losing streak on Saturday afternoon against Kutztown, rolling to a 3-1 win over the Golden Bears. Zoe Haines (York, Pa./York Suburban) led the way in kills with 14 to help West Chester, who hit north of .500 in two of the four sets, including a stellar .565 in the fourth set to halt its losing streak and emerge victorious by the 3-1 final. West Chester took an early 2-0 lead with wins in the first and second sets (25-21, 25-16) before falling 25-23 in the third set to force a fourth. In the fourth, West Chester left little doubt as to who was the better team on Saturday, turning in an outstanding hitting performance to cruise to a 25-15 victory and close out the match.
CeCe Isenberg (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) finished second on the team in kills with 11, and Anna Richardson (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna) added 10 of her own to go along with 10 digs for a double-double. Nicole Dimiris (Hockessin, Del./Saint Mark’s) was an excellent story for West Chester as well, hitting an otherworldly .818 with nine kills on 11 swings. Lacie Brown (Cochranville, Pa./Avon Grove) also registered a double-double in the victory, finishing with 46 assists and 11 digs to go along with four kills and an ace.
Flock Talk
Richardson and Haines remain the team leaders in kills with 178 and 175, respectively, while Brown leads the team in both assists (510) and aces (21) entering the second half of conference play. Sydney Heffner (Bath, Pa./Northampton) continues to lead West Chester in her usual way with 259 digs, while Dimiris and Julia Kwitchoff (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Wheatfield) led in blocks with 40 and 35, respectively.
Time For a Run
Wednesday night’s game is the first of the second half of PSAC East play for West Chester, and the Golden Rams need a run to get back into the conversation for one of the four PSAC Tournament spots in November. Currently, the Golden Rams are sixth in the Eastern Division at 2-5, chasing Bloomsburg, who is fourth at 4-3, including a 3-2 win over the Golden Rams earlier this fall.
Home Sweet Home
Wednesday night will be the third game of a four-game homestand for West Chester, which will conclude on Saturday with a non-league Alumni Day matchup vs Queens College (N.Y.) beginning at 1 p.m.
Since 2021, West Chester is 36-17 at home, although the Golden Rams are just 3-4 in limited home action so far this season. West Chester opened its season at home as it has for many years but spent much of the remainder of conference play and the first half of East play away from Hollinger. This sets the team up for six home games in the next month, including rematches vs. Millersville, Lock Haven, Bloomsburg, Shepherd, and Shippensburg to conclude the season.
Series History
West Chester holds a 35-32 lead in the all-time series vs. Millerville, including a 24-8 lead in the series since 2007. West Chester and Millersville split the series a year ago, and Millersville started the 2024 series with a victory at Penn Manor, marking the Marauders' second consecutive win over the Golden Rams. West Chester has not lost to Millersville in Hollinger since a 3-0 setback in 2019.
Scouting Millersville
Millersville enters play in a similar position to West Chester as the second half of PSAC East play gets underway. The Marauders are currently 10-10 on the year and 3-4 in league action, needing wins in the final weeks of the season to find their way into the PSAC Tournament. The Marauders enter play on a two-game winning streak, sweeping a pair of matches against Kutztown and East Stroudsburg over the weekend after halting a five-match losing streak.
Against East Stroudsburg on Saturday, Millersville stunned the visiting Warriors by a 3-0 final, racing out to an early lead and never relinquishing this advantage to return to .500 on the year and move to 3-4 in league action. Emma Ludwig was named PSAC East Athlete of the Week after a pair of double-doubles last weekend, including a record-setting 29-assist effort vs Kutztown on Friday night, which toppled Missy Rauhauser’s nearly three-decade-old record of 3,580 set in November of 1994. Kylee Schurig and Taylor Welter led the way in kills on Saturday, finishing with eight and seven, while Mya Cascario finished with three aces. Emma Kerwin chipped in seven kills of her own to go along with a team-best four blocks, while Madison Von Neida led the team in digs with 13.
Welter and Kerwin lead the team in kills with 227 and 209, respectively, while Ludwig leads in assists with 736. Cascario remains the team leader in aces with 34, while Von Neida and Ludwig lead the team in digs with 345 and 253. Caroline Halsey is the team leader in blocks with 50, while Ludwig is second with 35 of her own.
