The Shippensburg University volleyball team split a pair of matches for the second straight day on Saturday as it completed this weekend's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover competition inside Gannon's Hammermill Center.
Shippensburg (11-4, 2-2 PSAC) lost to Gannon (10-3, 3-1) by set scores of 22-25, 25-22, 22-25, 23-25, as all four sets were decided by three points or less. SU rallied to defeat Slippery Rock (7-10, 0-4) in five sets by scores of 23-25, 25-19, 16-25, 25-20, 15-11.
The Raiders were one of just two Eastern Division teams with multiple victories this weekend against Western Division opponents. Pitt-Johnstown won all four of its matches on Friday and Saturday to take the early division lead.
In Saturday morning's opener with Gannon, freshman
Morgan DeFloria was credited with a team-high 13 kills on 45 swings. Senior
Taylor Gottshall was SU's most efficient hitter, slamming eight kills on just one error (hitting .350) to go along with three block assists.
Junior
Maura Nolan had 36 assists and 17 digs against the Golden Knights before following that effort up with 43 assists and 21 digs in the five-set win over Slippery Rock. For the weekend, Nolan was credited with 128 assists, an average of 7.5 per set.
Senior
Laura Plank had a team-high 24 digs against Gannon and then added 19 digs against Slippery Rock. Plank now has 1,387 digs in her career, and on Saturday moved up to sixth place all-time in school history past 1,000/1,000-club member Alyssa Kilgore '05.
DeFloria had a strong hitting game against The Rock, clubbing 15 kills and hitting a strong .262. She also had four block assists, as the Raiders totaled 13 blocks in the nightcap. Gottshall had six kills, two solo blocks and five block assists. Senior
Faith Athey had six kills, one solo block and four block assists.
Junior
Annie Goerl contributed a double-double against Slippery Rock with 13 kills and 21 digs. Fellow junior
Rebecca Pryor had an outstanding stat line against The Rock, slamming eight kills without an error (hitting .348) with a solo block and three block assists.
Shippensburg will face its first divisional opponents of the season next weekend. SU will travel to face Lock Haven next Friday and Pitt-Johnstown on Saturday.
