The Shippensburg University volleyball team could not overcome a late rally from Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Southeast Division rival Millersville in its opening match Thursday night at the 2019 NCAA Atlantic Region Championships, dropping a five-set match to the Marauders by scores of 29-27, 22-25, 17-25, 25-23 and 15-9 from the Alma Grace McDonough Center on the campus of Wheeling University.
 
In the third meeting of the season between divisional foes, Shippensburg (26-7) held a 2-1 lead in the match but could not put away Millersville (26-8), a squad making its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 24 years. Of the six sets that the Marauders took from the Raiders this season, four were by a two-point margin, and three of those four required bonus points.
 
The first set was nip and tuck, featuring 18 ties and eight lead changes. The Marauders staved off four consecutive set points before scoring two-in-a-row at 27-27 to take the opening frame.
 
The second set featured a 19-15 lead for the Raiders before the Marauders took six of the next seven points to take a 21-20 lead. However, SU scored five of the final six points in the frame to even the match.
 
In the third set, the Raiders established a 7-2 lead and led solidly for the duration of the frame, later using a 4-0 run to take a decisive 22-12 lead.
 
SU fell behind 6-1 in fourth set and trailed for the entire frame before tying it at 23-23. However, a kill and ace by Millersville forced the fifth and decisive set, in which the Marauders opened with a 4-0 run to establish a lead that they would not relinquish.
 
"We felt very confident heading into the fourth set, and suddenly the momentum dropped out," head coach Leanne Piscotty said. "We had to grind, and we did, and we made a nice comeback. We felt like the momentum was balanced again heading into the fifth set, but again we had another momentum shift."
 
Shippensburg ripped 76 kills compared to 64 for Millersville, posting a .239 hitting efficiency. The Raiders only had one more attack error (20) than the Marauders (19), and posted an 8-5 edge in blocks.
 
However, SU committed 12 service errors compared to just five aces, while MU achieved 11 aces – tied for the most by a Raider opponent this season.
 
"We lost the match on the service line," Piscotty said. "We had too many service errors, not enough aces, and they had the reverse numbers on that."
 
Offensively, Shippensburg was in tune. Junior Emily Hangen set a career high with 69 assists, tied for the third-most by any Division II player this season and the most achieved in a match by a Raider in 17 years (Amber Schmerfeld, 69 vs. Gettysburg, 2002). Hangen also had 26 digs – two off a career high – and finished with a team-high five block assists – just one off a career high. Her junior season featured 1,402 assists – second-most in a single season in school history.
 
Senior Gabriella Johnson finished her career with a career-high 25 kills and a .303 hitting percentage despite 66 attempts. She also led the Raiders with 29 digs, served two aces and had two blocks. The performance marked her 20th double-double of the season for kills and digs and the 50th of her Raider career. Her senior season included career highs of 430 kills (eighth in single-season history), 509 digs and a .198 hitting efficiency.
 
Senior Samantha Webber had 17 kills compared to just three errors, swinging .326 on 43 attempts. Webber also had four block assists. Her senior season concludes with career highs of 396 kills and a .328 hitting efficiency.
 
Webber's fellow middle, senior Kendall Johnson, had 16 kills compared to just two errors, swinging .341 on 41 attempts. She had three block assists. Her senior season concludes with career highs of 333 kills, 24 solo blocks and a .280 hitting efficiency.
 
Senior libero Megan Forstburg had 28 digs and five assists of her own. Junior Gianna Sigado had 10 kills and 16 digs for her seventh double-double of the year, while junior Alana Pergine contributed seven kills and redshirt-freshman Syera McCormick added 13 digs and two aces.
 
"It is bittersweet, but I know that we all played our hearts out and had a lot of intensity," Gabriella Johnson said. "We fought back, just, on some things, we fell short."
 
Shippensburg falls to 1-8 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches, with its lone victory coming in 2013. The Raiders reached the NCAA Atlantic Region Championships for the seventh time in the last eight years. SU went 5-2 in five-set matches this season – with both setbacks being at the hands of the Marauders.

The loss marks the end of the careers for one of the most impactful senior classes in school history. The five-woman class of Forstburg, Gabriella Johnson, Kendall Johnson, Faith Loehle (Manorville, N.Y./Saint Anthony's) and Webber left an indelible mark on the school record books but also in terms of success – posting a 98-35 career record.
 
The senior class features three of SU's all-time Top 10 in career kills (Webber, G. Johnson, K. Johnson), two of SU's all-time Top 6 in career digs (Forstburg and G. Johnson) and two of SU's all-time Top 4 in career block assists (K. Johnson and Webber). Shippensburg's career records and single-season records are updated here.
 
"They're an incredible group of women," Piscotty said. "They are great people, who I would be proud of if any one of them was my daughter. They play, and are students, with great integrity. They have great composure. They work really hard, and they love each other, and they're great leaders. They are great people, their parents are great people, and I would recruit every single one of them over and over again."