SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University volleyball team opened up its three-match homestand with a 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-18, 28-26) victory over Bloomsburg University Friday night in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference competition.
 
The victory, which was The Rock's fourth in the last six matches, improves SRU's record to 8-12 overall and 5-7 in league contests. Bloomsburg drops to 5-16 overall and 1-11 in league matches in the loss.
 
After registering just 14 kills over her last three matches, senior Beth Stumpf returned to form with a huge performance on Friday with 17 kills, 13 digs and a .424 attack percentage (17-3-33).
 
Fellow senior Shayla Ray also finished with a double-digit kill total, concluding the night with 12 kills, three blocks and a stellar .478 attack percentage (12-1-23).
 
Junior setter Zoe Rivet did a little bit of everything for The Rock against the Huskies. In addition to a near career-high 49 assists, she also compiled four aces, 21 digs, one kill and one block. Sophomore Jalyn Willard paced SRU's defensive efforts thanks to a match-high 25 digs.
 
The quartet of junior Kaley Fucci, sophomore Erinn Kahoe, freshman Gabby Huck and sophomore Stephanie Jacobsen also played integral roles in the gritty victory. Fucci had eight kills, Kahoe tallied seven kills in addition to two aces while Huck and Jacobsen posted six kills apiece.
 
For the match, Slippery Rock held advantages over Bloomsburg in kills (57-36), attack percentage (.235-.110), digs (76-68) and blocks (5-4). Both teams had four aces.
 
Slippery Rock will look to continue its recent string of wins with a victory 1 p.m. Saturday against Lock Haven University at Morrow Field House.
 
NOTES
-A win against Lock Haven on Saturday would allow SRU to tie the 2012 and 2014 Rock squads for the most home wins in a season dating back to 2005.
 
-Ray and Stumpf posted the fourth and fifth best single-match attack percentages of the season, respectively (minimum 19 attempts).
 
-Ray will enter Saturday's match against Lock Haven ranked fifth in the PSAC in season attack percentage at .316.
 
-Stumpf's 17-kill effort was SRU's second highest kill total of the year; Jacobsen had 19 against West Chester on Sept. 14.
 
-Rivet's 49 assists were the third most in a four-set match for The Rock dating back to the 2002 season (557 total matches).  
 
-Friday marked Stumpf's team-high eighth double-double of the season. Rivet is close behind Stumpf for the team lead with six of her own.
 
-Willard's 25 digs were the third most in a single match of her young career.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1-Bloomsburg benefited greatly from 15 Rock errors (attack, service, set and ball handling) in the opener to pull off a 25-22 victory. Huck had five kills in the first set.
 
SET 2-As was the case for most of the night, the second set was a back-and-forth tilt, but with the game tied at 20-20 Slippery Rock put the match away with a 5-2 victory to even the contest at one set apiece. Four of the final five points by The Rock came off of Bloomsburg errors.
 
SET 3-The third set was The Rock's most impressive of the night. SRU never trailed and recorded a match-best .310 team attack percentage over the set. Slippery Rock rattled off five straight points en route to a 25-18 triumph. Fucci had four kills and Rivet served two aces in the third set.
 
SET 4-The largest lead of the fourth set was a mere four points early on as neither team would give an inch in the fourth set. After trading points for virtually the entire set, Slippery Rock was able to seal the set, and the match, by taking three straight points via a Stumpf kill, a dual block by Rivet and Ray and a BU attack error for a 28-26 win.  
 


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