Box Score

WHEELING, W.Va. – The Shippensburg University women's volleyball team had its historic 2012 season come to an end Thursday afternoon from the Alma Grace McDonough Center with a four-set loss in the NCAA Atlantic Region Quarterfinals to No. 3 seed California (Pa.) by set scores of 24-26, 27-25, 18-25 and 18-25.

Shippensburg (27-12), making its second NCAA tournament appearance since the program's creation in 1980, finishes the campaign with its second-highest win total in school history. SU also reached the PSAC semifinals and won 14 of its 19 conference matches during the regular season.

“We all played (with our hearts out) and we did well with our hitting numbers, but we just couldn't quite execute our plans,” head coach Leanne Piscotty said. “It's disappointing, but we are very excited to be here.”

SU was in a battle from the start, falling behind 14-8 and 20-16 in the opening set to claw back and tie the frame at 22-22. The Raiders faced a pair of set points at 24-22 before back-to-back kills by junior Jill Edwards knotted the score back at 24-24. Brandy Harris capped off the first set with a pair of kills to give Cal the 26-24 win.

“We competed hard, and went up against some great teams this season,” Jill Edwards said. Jill led all players with 25 kills and also hit .273 from the floor. “We won some and we lost some, but overall we really developed how we were playing as a team.”

The second set featured 14 ties and eight lead changes. SU built a 15-10 lead, but Cal answered with a 7-0 run. The Raiders and Vulcans kept exchanging rallies, with SU taking five of the next six points to go up 20-18 before the Vulcans snuck three-in-a-row to go up 21-20.

The Raiders answered to take leads of 23-21 and 24-22 before the Vulcans counter put them up 25-24. However, an attack error, a kill from Jill Edwards and a nice touch play at the net by senior Erin Flick gave SU the second set, 27-25.

“We had to come out and fight and not give up until the game's over,” junior Samantha Edwards said. Samantha was strong on the outside for the Raiders with nine kills and three block assists. “We went into that game with nothing to lose. We had to play with our hearts and we had to play for our team. And that's exactly what we did.”

Both teams picked up the attack in the third set. The Raiders swung .208, but the Vulcans posted a .319 percentage and won the frame by eight points. Neither squad led by more than two points in the third set until Cal established an 18-15 lead and closed the frame on a 9-3 run.

SU would get as close as 11-9 in the fourth set before the Vulcans took control. Cal was paced by Harris, who recorded 13 digs in addition to her 20 kills, and setter Abbey Freund, who provided 36 assists and 18 digs.

The Raiders did not capture its season-long success on the block Thursday, totaling just five in the match. SU had 14 blocks in its regular-season meeting with the Vulcans and entered the match as one of the NCAA's Top 25 blocking squads.

The Raiders got 44 assists from senior setter Andrea Heimsoth and 25 digs from senior libero Lauren Murphy. Thursday's match marked an emotional end to a terrific and memorable career for SU's senior class – Heimsoth, Murphy, Flick, Rachel Smicker and Jenny Pry – that won 77 matches over the last four years.

“This is a group of girls like no other class we've had,” Piscotty said of her seniors. “I absolutely enjoy being around them every single minute - on and off the court. They're a very special group of girls who are great at recruiting, great at playing hard. They are doing a phenomenal job of setting a legacy within our program and passing it on.”

“We have an incredible group of five seniors who add so much for our team,” Jill Edwards said. “We go in and practice really hard, we set that environment in our gym and we knew that this season was going to be special for us.”

As difficult as the loss was, the team took some solace in the fact that it was able to achieve the majority of its goals for the season and reach the NCAA tournament.

“This year's been special,” Samantha Edwards said. “We've been playing since August 12. It's been a long season, but we've been in a competition since August 12. This team has been outstanding. On and off the court we've been a family, and we'll always be a family - no matter what.”

“The quality of girls and the chemistry they have together - it's incredibly special,” Piscotty said.