SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University volleyball team entered Saturday as one of three remaining one-loss teams in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), and its opponent East Stroudsburg was one of the other two.
 
After two-and-a-half hours of wildly-entertaining volleyball, it was the Raiders who emerged victorious in five sets by scores of 25-21, 22-25, 25-19, 26-28 and 18-16 from Heiges Field House.
 
The tone was established in the first set, which featured 15 ties and seven lead changes. Shippensburg (21-4, 13-1 PSAC) took the opening frame by scoring the final three points.
 
East Stroudsburg (22-5, 12-2), trailing 2-1 and facing a 22-15 deficit in the fourth set, was undaunted. It staved off four separate match points to rally and take the frame in extra points and set up the decisive fifth set.
 
The final frame equaled the tone of the first and took it to another level. It featured 13 ties and eight lead changes, with the most notable being a four-point run for Shippensburg that flipped a 9-6 deficit into a 10-9 lead.
 
The Raiders staved off a match point at 14-13 and then traded two-point runs with the Warriors. ESU staved off a 15-14 match point to earn a second match point at 16-15, but Shippensburg closed with the final three points to claim the victory.
 
It was a fitting way to honor an extraordinary senior class playing its final home match of the regular season. Megan Forstburg, Gabriella Johnson, Kendall Johnson, Faith Loehle and Samantha Webber were honored before the start.
 
Webber scored the match-clinching kill; it was her 24th of the match. She finished one short of her career high (25 vs. Walsh in the opening weekend) and hit .327 on 49 swings. She also had four block assists.
 
Kendall Johnson became the 12th member of the 1,000 career kills club at Shippensburg. She totaled 14 on the day, bringing her total to 1,009, and hit .133. She also had a hand in four blocks.
 
Gabriella Johnson had her 15th double-double of the season with 16 kills and 20 digs. She also had a hand in four blocks.
 
Forstburg moved into second all-time in SU history for career digs; her 34 digs brought her career total to 1,910 and moved her past Missy Pierce (1,902 from 2003-06). She also served three aces. Loehle contributed serves in the fourth set.
 
Junior Emily Hangen was sensational, recording a career-high 64 assists to complement 18 digs and a pair of kills. Hangen's 64 assists are the most by a PSAC player in a match this season and tied for the fifth-most in the nation this season by any player. For the third time in the last four matches, four Raiders had at double-digit kills.  
 
Junior Gianna Sigado had her second straight double-double and sixth of the season with a career-high 15 kills on just two errors (.224 hitting percentage) and 24 digs, a total that matches a career high. Seven of Sigado's kills came in the fourth set.
 
East Stroudsburg's often-cerebral blocking efforts were on display once again, as the Warriors totaled 15 blocks against the Raiders. It is the 12th time this season that ESU has had at least 10 blocks in a match. Trea-sure Ketter and Sam Dunphy each had a hand in eight.
 
All-Region outside hitter Sarah Smith tallied 22 kills and 24 digs and hit .138 despite 80 swings in the match. Dunphy had 14 kills, 11 digs and two of ESU's three aces. Caylinn Davis was a third Warrior with a double-double, impressing with 12 kills, 16 digs, three blocks and a .190 hitting efficiency.
 
Shippensburg is on the road for its final five matches of the regular season, beginning next Friday at Lock Haven.