SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University volleyball team split its Saturday matches at the first of two 2016 Raider Classic tournaments, as SU dispatched Dominican in straight sets (25-9, 25-12, 25-22) before falling in five sets to league rival Seton Hill (25-14, 23-25, 25-21, 26-28, 8-15) in non-league matches from Heiges Field House.
 
Shippensburg (3-1) began with a convincing victory over Dominican (0-4) in which the team utilized all of its players that were dressed for the contest. Against Seton Hill (4-0), the Raiders charged out of the gates with a convincing first-set win and led 2-1, but the Griffins scratched out a 28-26 fourth set and eventually out-lasted the home team.
 
In the Seton Hill match, SU got 60 of its 62 kills from five starters – each of whom totaled nine or more kills for the contest. Senior Annie Goerl (15-11), sophomore Morgan DeFloria (11-15) and freshman Gabriella Johnson (15-13) all posted double-doubles with kills and digs, with Goerl and Johnson tying for the team lead with 15 kills.
 
Freshman Samantha Webber had 10 kills and six blocks, while senior Maura Nolan had nine digs and dished out 57 assists – a total just one shy of her all-time career high for a match.
 
Freshman Kendall Johnson had nine kills in both matches on the day and had just two hitting errors – swinging an impressive .364.
 
Senior Maria Peluso capped off an outstanding weekend serving as the team's libero with a career-high 38 digs against Seton Hill. Peluso had 94 digs in four matches this weekend, averaging 6.71 digs per set. Freshman Megan Forstburg had 27 digs on the day, including 20 digs in the nightcap.  
 
The Raiders swung .169 as a team against Seton Hill, but 14 of the team's 25 hitting errors came in the final two sets. As expected in a five-set, hard-fought match, the statistics of the two squads virtually mirrored one another, with SU and Seton Hill managing the same amount of digs and differing by just two kills.
 
In the first match of the day, sophomore Katie Lemheney paced a strong contingent off the bench with five kills, a .273 hitting percentage and two blocks. Senior Cristen Harris and freshman Grace Ramacciotti each had four kills against the Chargers, while freshman Corynne Smith served four aces.
 
Shippensburg will have the luxury of staying home for another tournament next weekend, as the Raiders will play host to four teams on Friday and Saturday. SU will begin next week with a 3 p.m. matchup against Philadelphia.