Box Score

WHEELING, W.Va. – The Shippensburg University volleyball team had its memorable 2013 season come to an end Friday night with a straight-set loss to No. 1 seed Wheeling Jesuit at the 2013 NCAA Atlantic Region Championships in front of a raucous partisan crowd at the McDonough Center. Set scores were 25-10, 25-11 and 25-21.

Shippensburg (29-10) completed a historic campaign with 29 victories – its second-most in school history – and having achieved its first NCAA Tournament victory and an appearance in the PSAC Semifinals.

Wheeling Jesuit (35-5) improved to 30-0 this season against the Atlantic Region and advanced to face No. 3 seed California (Pa.) in the Atlantic Region Championship Match on Saturday night.

The loss was just the fifth time all season that Shippensburg was defeated in straight sets, with two coming at the hands of Wheeling Jesuit.

The host Cardinals set the tone early with an 8-2 in the opening set and never looked back. SU struggled at the net, as two early net violations and a pair of Cardinal blocks put the Raiders behind early. Wheeling swung .424 in the opening frame (16 kills to just two errors) and hit .390 for the match.

WJU went on an 11-0 run in the second set to take control in that frame before the third set was played close to the vest. The Raiders rebounded with a .237 hitting percentage in the third set and a .104 percentage for the match after swinging negative in the opening frame.

Senior Jill Edwards once again paced the Raiders, dropping 11 kills and hitting .200 in the match. Freshman Gabbie Holt added six kills while sophomore Faith Athey and freshman Maura Nolan each provided three block assists. Senior Samantha Edwards added three kills.

The loss marks the end of the collegiate careers for both Jill Edwards and Samantha Edwards – Raiders who combined for 265 matches and more than 2,500 kills and nearly 300 blocks.

Jill Edwards finishes up a storied run with 2,062 kills – the second-most in PSAC history – along with 1,448 digs, 139 service aces and 191 total blocks. In 2013, Jill posted 563 kills – four shy of her own single-season school record, while setting single-season personal bests in aces (50), blocks (60), digs (417) and hitting percentage (.259).

Athey (122) and sophomore Taylor Gottshall (119) finished the season having broken the single-season school record for block assists (118). Nolan finished with 1,326 assists – the second-most in SU single-season history.

Twelve players are set to return for the Raiders in 2013 – seven freshmen and five sophomores.