The Shippensburg University volleyball team extended its winning streak to 10 matches on Saturday afternoon with a straight-set victory over perennial rival West Chester, defeating the Golden Rams by scores of 25-23, 25-21 and 27-25 from the Sturzebecker Health and Science Center.
 
Shippensburg (16-5, 9-0 PSAC) hit .200 in the match, marking the eighth time during its 10-match winning streak that it has swung at that efficiency or better from the floor. Six different Raiders had at least five kills, while freshman Emily Hangen led all players with 38 assists.
 
West Chester (16-5, 6-4) hit .164, the best rate for an SU opponent in the last seven matches, but finished with 14 less kills than Shippensburg and yielded seven aces to the Raiders in the match. The Golden Rams did out-block SU, 5-3.
 
Sophomore Samantha Webber capped off a great week with a match-high 14 kills on just three errors, swinging .393 on 28 attempts. Junior Morgan DeFloria had nine kills and hit .125, while redshirt-junior Courtney Malott had eight kills to just two errors and hit .286. Sophomore Kendall Johnson added seven kills and hit .211.
 
Hangen, from her setter position, nabbed five kills – one off her season high – and recorded nine digs. She hit .364. Sophomore Megan Forstburg paced the Raiders with 15 digs, while sophomore Gabriella Johnson had 13 digs.
 
In a match that featured 24 ties and 10 lead changes, it was West Chester who rallied from a 10-6 deficit in the first set to eventually lead 16-13. The first set was eventually tied at 23-23, with Malott and Gabriella Johnson closing out the opening frame by recording kills.
 
SU flipped a 9-8 deficit in the second set into a six-point lead (16-10) with an 8-1 run, and would not trail by less than three points for the rest of the frame.
 
In the third and final set, the Raiders led 19-12 before the Golden Rams stormed back to tie it at 21-21. WCU took a 25-24 lead, but a Webber kill, Gabriella Johnson service ace and a Golden Ram attack error finished the match in SU's favor.
 
The current 10-match winning streak is the longest for the Raiders since a run of 12 straight from Oct. 4-26, 2013.
 
Shippensburg will host Pitt-Johnstown at 7 p.m. Friday in a PSAC Central Division battle from Heiges Field House. Before the match, SU Athletics will recognize head coach Leanne Piscotty for achieving her 300th career head coaching victory earlier this season.