SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University volleyball team completed an emotional season-opening Friday with two straight-set victories, defeating Southern New Hampshire and Concord as it began 2016 with the first of two days of the annual Raider Classic.
 
Shippensburg (2-0) defeated Concord (1-1) at night by scores of 25-21, 25-16, 25-19 after dispatching Southern New Hampshire (0-2) earlier in the day by scores of 25-21, 25-19, 25-17.
 
Senior Annie Goerl was splendid on the day, hitting .326 with 16 kills. In an outstanding nightcap against Concord, Goerl had 13 kills and hit .500 with five digs.
 
Defensively, senior Maria Peluso had 23 digs against Concord to complement five assists and three service aces. Peluso also had 18 digs against Southern New Hampshire.
 
In the opener against Southern New Hampshire, the Raiders swung to a .119 percentage and got a team-high eight kills off the bench from freshman Kendall Johnson. She finished the day with 17 kills between the two matches. Sophomore Morgan DeFloria had seven kills, while freshman Gabriella Johnson provided six kills and hit .235 off the bench.
 
Both teams struggled for consistency in the opener, combining for 41 attack errors and 17 service errors. Both teams had five blocks.
 
SU concludes its first Raider Classic on Saturday with a 2 p.m. match against Dominican (N.Y.) and a 7 p.m. matchup against Seton Hill. The contest against the Griffins is not considered a conference match.