CLINTON, Iowa - It couldn't have happened at a better time or place for Ashford University volleyball junior Kelsay McCausland of Camanche when she slammed down her 1,000th career kill on the very first play against the University of Dubuque on Friday.

McCausland achieved the feat and then some in front of friends and family inside a well-attended Kehl Arena earlier this evening, putting her in rare company in school history as the Saints swept Dubuque, 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 27-25).

"I was kind of hoping that was the way it would play out," McCausland said afterwards. "It was really nice to do it at home because my parents have always been supportive of me and they weren't able to make the Viterbo trip on Wednesday. I'm grateful and it was nice to see them in the crowd."

The Saints improved to 19-14 overall on the season, snapping a three-match losing skid while making adjustments on offense and defense. The Div. III Spartans of Dubuque dropped to 8-19 overall.

"We did some new things on offense and defense tonight and we didn't expect everything to be perfect," AU Head Coach Micah Cewe said. "We switched from a 6-2 to a 5-1 and put all the pressure on our freshman setter (Liz Gbur). She did a good job tonight of stepping up and getting the ball to our hitters."

Ashford did its part to honor Breast Cancer Awareness month, donning pink t-shirts in pregame warm-ups and wearing appropriate colored headbands and hair ties.

McCausland was presented a game ball by Cewe and assistant coach Jason Anderson and the crowd applauded for the junior middle hitter. She came into tonight's match just one shy away from the milestone, having recorded nine kills in Wednesday's road match against Viterbo University to give her 999.

The 6-0 junior tallied eight kills and notched a pair of critical service aces to open the decisive third set on the evening to give her a career total of 1,007 to date, third only behind standouts Aubree Rhoades (1,288) and Jenny Buelow (1,797).

"Kelsay has been the heart and soul of our team this year," Cewe said. "She's going to be a great four-year player for us and it couldn't have come at a better time for us to get a win on our home court in front of family and friends."

McCausland capped off a busy day that included a team picture with the women's basketball team. She will be suiting up for Ashford this winter, wearing jersey number 34 on the court as a forward.

A four-time all-tournament honoree this year and Honorable Mention All-MCC pick in 2008, she stopped to reflect on the biggest improvement when she came to campus as a freshman.

"The coaches and I have really been working on my serve a lot," she said. "I never used a jump serve in high school and it's really come a long ways. Tonight, we started finally playing together as a team and we hope that we hit rock bottom earlier this week. The girls are going 100 percent and the team implemented a new rule in practice."

Freshman outside hitter Sarah Wenzel of Clinton hit all the corners on the court to the tune of a career-high 12 kills against the Spartans' defense. She was working earlier this afternoon with Anderson in the gym on technique and the private session certainly paid off.

Wenzel passed her previous personal-best 10 kills compiled in back-to-back matches against Calumet College of St. Joseph (Sept. 25) and Illinois Institute of Technology (Sept. 26).

The Saints served up 11 aces on the evening and received 28 assists from the freshman setter Gbur of Darien, Ill. A trio of defensive specialists had double-digit dig totals in Heather McCue of Rock Falls, Tara Van Zuiden of Albany, Ill., and Whitney Miller of Clinton.

With only three conference matches remaining on the schedule, the Saints travel to Waldorf College next Wednesday for another league match. Ashford wraps up the year with Mt. Mercy College (Oct. 2) and Clarke College (Nov. 7) before heading into the MCC Tournament.