SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University volleyball team concluded its 2014 regular season on Saturday afternoon with back-to-back five-set marathons on Senior Day, falling to conference rival Lock Haven in what proved to be a PSAC playoff preview before out-lasting Winston-Salem State immediately after.
 
Shippensburg (18-16, 9-13 PSAC) spent nearly seven hours in a 24-hour span on the volleyball court this weekend, downing UPJ in five sets on Friday night before returning Saturday for its eighth and ninth five-set matches of the year. It held six-point leads in each of the first four sets against Lock Haven (20-10, 14-8) but could not put away the pesky Lady Eagles. Against Winston-Salem State (14-14), three of the five frames required extra points to determine a winner.
 
Set scores against Lock Haven were 22-25, 25-21, 25-22, 24-26 and 15-9. Set scores against Winston-Salem State were 25-17, 26-24, 24-26, 29-31 and 15-8.
 
As a result of Saturday's action, Shippensburg fell to the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Division and will travel to Lock Haven on Tuesday night for a re-match with the Lady Eagles in the PSAC Quarterfinals.  
 
Sophomore Annie Goerl capped off a superb weekend with 40 kills, 42 digs and six aces between the two matches. She had 15 kills and career highs of 25 digs and five aces against Lock Haven before slamming a career-high 25 kills against Winston-Salem State to complement 17 digs. For the season, Goerl has recorded 13 double-doubles – including three this week and eight in the team's last 10 matches.
 
Fellow sophomore Maura Nolan went into triple digits for assists – totaling 101 in the two matches and also hitting .310 for the day (11 kills to just two errors). Nolan had a career-high 58 assists against the Rams in the nightcap, marking the seventh time in her career she totaled more than 50 assists in a match.
 
Junior Taylor Gottshall had 29 kills, 32 digs, 11 blocks and five aces. She cranked out double-doubles in both matches – totaling 13 kills, 17 digs and six blocks (two solo) against Lock Haven before coming back with 16 kills, 15 digs and five blocks (two solo) against Winston-Salem State.
 
Gottshall, the PSAC's leading blocker at the conclusion of the regular season (156 blocks; 1.25 per set), enters the conference tournament having surpassed her single-season career high for block assists set last season with 120 and just two shy of junior teammate Faith Athey's single-season school record (122) set last season.
 
Athey had 21 kills and six blocks Saturday. She moved up to 267 career block assists, leaving her just seven shy of moving into second place all-time on SU's career list behind Gottshall.
 
Junior Laura Plank was credited with a single-match career high of 39 digs against Lock Haven and had 63 on the day. Her 607 digs for the season rank her among the Top 10 in the conference.                          
 
Freshman Courtney Malott had a double-double against Winston-Salem with 12 kills and 15 digs while serving five aces. She added 19 digs in the match versus Lock Haven.
 
Between the two matches, sophomore Rebecca Pryor had nine kills to just two errors and contributed six blocks.
 
Casey Hawbaker was recognized before the Winston-Salem State match as SU's lone senior. Hawbaker, a veteran of 64 matches, had 25 digs on the day and has tallied more than 450 digs in her career as a defensive specialist for the Raiders.
 
Tuesday's match at Lock Haven will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets will be $7 for adults and $2 for students (non-PSAC).