SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University volleyball team rallied Saturday afternoon taking the final two sets to come from behind and defeat visiting East Stroudsburg in a thrilling five-set Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup at Heiges Field House. Set scores 18-25, 25-17, 21-25, 25-17, and 15-13.
 
Shippensburg (8-8, 2-1 PSAC East) was led by seniors Oyinda Agbale and Rachel Verhoef as they combined for 35 kills and hit over .350. Verhoef was one shy away from tying her career high with 18 kills and had a .405 hit percentage. She added two block solos. Agbale had an afternoon and put up a career-high 17 kills in addition to, two assists, three block solos and four block assists.
 
Freshman Erica Lampus led the team with 15 digs, while freshman Kearstin Davis had a team-high 47 assists, 10 digs and her fourth game with three aces this season.  The Raiders swung .185 while East Stroudsburg (8-8, 2-1) swung .151.
 
In the first set, both teams were back and forth, until ESU went on a 7-3 run to take an 18-14 lead. The Raiders were unable to find any rhythm and ESU took advantage and went on a 5-0 run to take the set. The second set took a turn for the Raiders. SU took a 7-2 lead at the start and did not let ESU get back into the set, including back-to-back attacking errors from the Warriors gave the Raiders the set.
 
The third set was similar to the first set, both teams were back and forth, but a 5-0 run by ESU when the set was tied at 8-8, helped the Warriors keep the lead. The Raiders saved five set points, but an attacking error by the Raiders gave ESU the set.
 
The fourth set was similar to the second set, the Raiders took a 7-3 lead. A change in the starting lineup in the fourth set for the Raiders helped SU maintain the lead. Verhoef had four kills with no errors; Agbale had five kills and freshman Kayla Johnson had three kills to send the match into a deciding set.
 
Shippensburg won the first point off a kill by Agbale and took a 4-2 lead. East Stroudsburg still fighting, went on a 4-1 run to take a 7-5 lead. A timeout called by Coach Leanne Piscotty changed the momentum for the Raiders as they took a 5-0 run to lead 10-7. Tied at 13-13, SU took its second timeout, that gave the Raiders a kill from Johnson to set up match point. The Raiders got a big block from Agbale and sophomore Maddie Clabaugh to secure the victory.
 
Shippensburg will travel to Millersville next Friday at 7 p.m. for another PSAC matchup.