SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University volleyball team snuck past longtime rival Edinboro on Saturday, defeating the Fighting Scots in four sets in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) match from Heiges Field House. Set scores were 25-19, 22-25, 25-16 and 25-22.
 
Shippensburg (22-5, 12-3 PSAC) used a pair of key runs late in the match to get past Edinboro (13-12, 6-9), as the two squads played within close proximity of one another for the majority of the match. The Raiders recorded 10 blocks – totaling 21 over its two weekend matches – to mark the fifth time this season that SU has achieved double-digit blocks.  
 
Senior Morgan DeFloria recorded her 16th double-double of the season with a team-high 16 kills to complement 11 digs. DeFloria served three of SU's eight aces in the match. Junior Gabriella Johnson added 11 kills, nine digs and also served three aces.
 
Junior Kendall Johnson was key at the net, contributing to a season-high seven blocks while crunching eight kills and hitting .179. Fellow junior Samantha Webber had seven kills, three blocks and hit .286.
 
SU's defense and passing were key – with junior libero Megan Forstburg providing a match-high 24 digs. It is the 13th match this season in which Forstburg has recorded 20 or more digs. Sophomore setter Emily Hangen, meanwhile, had 36 assists, 11 digs, and snuck in four kills to hit .500 on the day.
 
Edinboro's Cierah Jackson led all players with 17 kills in the match, hitting .200. She also served four aces. Megan Screptock added a double-double for the visitors with 12 kills and 13 digs. The visitors had a high-risk, high-reward afternoon at the service line, totaling nine aces but also recording 11 errors.

Trailing by a 21-19 score and already down one set, the Fighting Scots used a 6-1 run to conclude the second set and even the match at 1-1. In the third set, SU held a 19-16 lead, but closed with the final six points – including five on a service run by senior Angela Tarabrella.
 
The fourth and final set featured Edinboro nearly rallying from a pair of deficits. Trailing 15-9, the Fighting Scots produced another 6-1 run to get within a point at 16-15. The set reached 22-21 when a DeFloria attack was ruled a tip off an Edinboro player, giving SU a key two-point advantage. The Fighting Scots got another kills from Jackson to make it 23-22, before a pair of attack errors finished the match in SU's favor.
 
Saturday's victory secures a berth in the PSAC Tournament for the Raiders – marking the 12th consecutive year that Shippensburg will compete in the conference playoffs. Seeding is still to be determined over the final three matches of the season to be conducted next week.
 
UP NEXT: Tuesday, 7 p.m. at Pitt-Johnstown.