The Shippensburg University volleyball team was defeated in a pair of conference crossover matches held Saturday at Slippery Rock, falling in straight sets to the host The Rock (19-25, 17-25, 22-25) before dropping a four-set affair with Gannon (18-25, 15-25, 25-23, 9-25).
 
Shippensburg (10-12, 4-9 PSAC) ended the day with 17 kills and 10 blocks from junior Taylor Gottshall, who is now just 11 blocks shy of tying Dana Boyer's all-time school record (400; 1985-88).
 
Sophomore setter Maura Nolan also had a strong day, tallying 55 assists and contributing 10 kills to just two errors (swinging .308). Junior libero Laura Plank finished the day with 36 digs.
 
Against Slippery Rock (13-7, 7-5), junior Faith Athey led the team with nine kills and hit .174 on 23 attempts. Gottshall had seven kills, seven digs and five blocks (two solo).
 
In the nightcap, SU became just the third Eastern Division team to take a set from Gannon (18-2, 11-2) this season as it swung .255 as a team in the third set to take the frame by two points. The Raiders managed nine blocks against the Golden Knights, as Gottshall had five block assists (plus 10 kills) while Athey and sophomore Rebecca Pryor each had four block assists.
 
Shippensburg remains on the road next week, traveling to face Lock Haven on Friday (7 p.m.) and UPJ on Saturday (1 p.m.) in a pair of PSAC Eastern Division matches.