The Shippensburg University volleyball team capped off a successful Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) weekend on Saturday with straight-set victories over Clarion and IUP in matches held at Lock Haven's Thomas Field House.
 
Shippensburg (17-7, 8-5 PSAC) earned its first victory over Clarion (12-11, 8-4) since 2008 and its first-ever sweep of the Golden Eagles, posting set scores of 25-20, 25-23 and 25-23. SU then dispatched IUP (13-9, 6-7) by scores of 25-11, 25-20, 25-12.
 
The Raiders finished the year with an above-.500 record (5-3) against the PSAC Western Division for the second time in three years; in 2013, SU was also 5-3 against the opposite division. Last year's Raiders were just 1-7 against the PSAC West.
 
Shippensburg had extraordinary attacking on Saturday, swinging .296 and totaling just 14 hitting errors on 199 attempts between the two matches. In fact, SU had just two attack errors in 85 attempts against IUP – hitting an astronomical .365 with 33 kills.
 
Distributing the offensive production with aplomb was junior setter Maura Nolan, who averaged nine assists per set and totaled 54 assists on the day. For the weekend, Nolan averaged 9.7 assists per set as the Raiders posted a .220 hitting percentage over the four matches against PSAC West opponents.
 
On Saturday, SU's middle blockers were dynamic. Against Clarion, senior Faith Athey had 12 kills to just one error, hitting .579 over 19 attempts. Over the two matches, Athey had 16 kills, six blocks and a .455 hitting efficiency.
 
Senior Taylor Gottshall had nine kills to just one error against Clarion, hitting .333, to go along with four blocks. Gottshall's day included 14 kills, eight blocks, three aces and a .371 hitting percentage.
 
Freshman Morgan DeFloria had the most combined kills on the day for SU, totaling 19 while hitting .333 over a team-high 48 attempts. DeFloria had eight kills against Clarion but was even more proficient against IUP, totaling 11 kills to just one error while hitting .417.
 
Junior Annie Goerl had six aces on the day – three in each match – to go along with 20 digs and nine kills. Senior Laura Plank had a team-high 21 digs on the day – including 13 against Clarion – while sophomore Courtney Malott totaled 19 digs over the two matches.
 
The Raiders out-blocked the opposition 15-5 on the day and allowed just five aces. With its 3-1 weekend, SU improved to second place in the PSAC Eastern Division, one game ahead of West Chester for the time being.
 
Shippensburg returns home next weekend and will host East Stroudsburg at 7 p.m. Friday from Heiges Field House.