SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University volleyball team used strong defense and hit .243 as a team on Saturday to sweep Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Southeast Division rival Millersville by set scores of 25-21, 25-19 and 28-26 in competition from Heiges Field House.
 
Shippensburg (19-4, 11-1 PSAC) got the 13th double-double of the season from senior Gabriella Johnson (match-high 14 kills, 13 digs), a career-high 24 digs from junior Gianna Sigado, and excellent hitting performances from both senior Samantha Webber and junior Alana Pergine to defeat the Marauders for the eighth time in the last nine meetings in the series.
 
The Raiders also dug the ball extremely well, with senior libero Megan Forstburg recording 20 digs and junior Emily Hangen totaling eight to go along with 42 assists and a pair of aces. Hangen's passing resulted in three Raiders with double-digit kills. Syera McCormick added seven digs.
 
Webber had another efficient outing with 13 kills and a .417 hitting percentage. She has now hit .290 or better in five of the last six matches. Sigado had six kills, while senior Kendall Johnson added four kills.
 
Pergine was outstanding in her hitting both from the middle and the outside. She equaled a season high with 11 kills – marking her third career double-digit kills output, while hitting .381. Pergine has swung .200 or better in six of the last seven matches and is swinging .198 for the season.
 
Millersville (18-7, 8-4), fresh off a five-set win last night at Shepherd, hit .170 but did not have any player amass more than eight kills. Jayce Suseland, ranked second in the PSAC in both kills and hitting percentage, was held to single digits for just the fourth time this season. Suseland had eight kills and hit .143. Carley Baughman had eight kills and hit .286 for the visitors.
 
Shippensburg concludes an eight-match homestand next weekend with its final two home matches of the regular season, beginning at 7 p.m. Friday against Kutztown.