SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University volleyball team used outstanding play at the net and a strong defensive effort Tuesday night to rally and defeat visiting NAIA opponent Point Park in four sets by scores of 24-26, 25-14, 25-15 and 25-22 from Heiges Field House.
 
Shippensburg (16-15) tallied 12 blocks on the night, tying its most in a home match this season, while also serving nine aces and having five different players record double-digit digs on the night.
 
Sophomore Maura Nolan was all over the court, handing out 34 assists and recording a career-high 21 digs while also contributing to a pair of blocks.
 
Junior Taylor Gottshall continued her outstanding production with 10 kills on just one error, hitting .391, while blocking six shots and recording 10 digs for her fifth double-double of the year. Fellow junior Faith Athey matched Gottshall with 10 kills and six blocks while hitting .222.
 
Sophomore Rebecca Pryor chipped in five kills without an error and hit .278 – her best rate in a home match this season – while tallying three block assists. Sophomore Annie Goerl nearly had another double-double with nine kills and 13 digs.
 
Goerl and junior Casey Hawbaker were both strong on the serve, as each totaled three aces in the match. All three of Goerl's aces came in a first-set rally that helped SU climb out from underneath an 11-4 deficit. Hawbaker added nine digs.
 
Freshman Courtney Malott had two aces, three block assists and 11 digs in addition to six kills, while junior libero Laura Plank had 14 digs from the back row.
 
SU led 24-23 in the opening set before dropping the final three points and the frame to Point Park (24-15), a squad who defeated SU last year in four sets at home to snap the Raiders' school-record winning streak of 12 matches. Ironically, SU won the first set in last year's match before coming up short in the final three.
 
In the second set on Tuesday, SU led 14-13 before scoring 11 of the final 12 points to take the set. Goerl's serve produced six consecutive points, and Hawbaker closed out the frame with aces on two of the final three services.
 
The Raiders pounced on a reeling opponent, swinging .269 in the second set and .257 in the third set while committing just six attack errors in the middle frames. SU also limited Point Park to a sub-.100 hitting percentage over the final three frames.
 
In the fourth and final set, neither team led by more than two points until the end of the match. The Raiders trailed 20-19 before using a pair of blocks to take the lead and eventually close the match with a kill from Gottshall and a Pioneer attack error.
 
Among the teams Point Park has beaten this season include NCAA Atlantic Region opponents such as Edinboro, Fairmont State, UPJ and West Liberty.
 
Shippensburg begins its pivotal final weekend of conference play with a 7 p.m. Friday matchup against UPJ from Heiges Field House. SU and West Chester, currently in third and fourth place respectively, hold a one-game lead over Kutztown and Millersville.