Women's Volleyball
2009 Game Recap

last updated 09/18/2009 11:00 AM

Kutztown looking to keep hot start going out west

Kutztown has received contributions from several players in the early part of its season.

KUTZTOWN, PA (September 17, 2009) – Junior Lindsay Confer (Wingate/Bald Eagle) and the rest of the Kutztown University volleyball team is looking forward to its quick weekend trip to Erie. The team has all of its essentials for the six-hour trip across the state: Chex-Mix, I-pods, Gatorade, cell phones, school work, pillows, Steve Harvey’s new book, blankets along with the confidence gained from its six victories in seven matches to start the season.

Kutztown begins its first round of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover matches. KU will play two matches at Mercyhurst on Friday afternoon. KU battles host Mercyhurst at noon and then Edinboro at 5:00 p.m. Saturday, the Golden Bears will visit Gannon University for a noon start. The KU-Gannon contest will be broadcast live over the B2 Network. Fans can watch the match for free by visiting http://www.b2livetv.com/partner_members.asp?id=85.

It will be an arduous journey as the combined record of the three schools is 24-9. However, the Golden Bears are equipped with the tools to be successful this weekend.

“We are excited about this trip because I think this our longest one of the year and it might be our only overnighter,” Confer said. “I do think these matches are going to be a good test for us. I think we’ve been playing well and everybody has been clicking.”

Confer has been one piece of the Golden Bears’ amazing early season machine. She is second on the team with 45 kills and one of four players with at least 40 kills. Junior Kelsey Nester (Catasauqua/Catasauqua) and senior Katie Miller (Elizabethtown/Elizabethtown) lead the Golden Bears with 46 kills and sophomore Cali Snell (York/York Suburban) has 44 kills. Confer had a season-high 12 kills against Philadelphia. She also had eight kills each against Felician and Elizabeth City State.

Confer and Nester have been interchangeable parts. The strength of the Kutztown team early in the season has been its balance and multitude of selfless players. Volleyball coach John Gump rearranged some pieces and switched roles from the previous year and the changes have paid immediate dividends. Fueling the machine and setting Nester, Snell, Confer and Miller for kills have been the unflappable performances of freshmen setters Kimberlee Gomber (Washington/Washington) and Dana Wright (Warminster/Saint Basil Academy).

“Although Kelsey and I are different people, it’s like we’re one during the matches,” Confer said. “We’re always helping each other out. When I am in the game, she’s telling me where to hit it and when she’s in the game, I am doing the same thing. I know as a team we are doing much better than last year. I believe we have a lot of weapons.”

Fans will be able to see KU in action closer to home next weekend when it travels to East Stroudsburg for the first weekend of PSAC East play. The Golden Bears are home again on Tuesday September 29 when they host a doubleheader against Cheyney starting at 6 p.m. 

--KU--