SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University volleyball team was defeated at home for the first time this season on Tuesday, dropping a non-league match to Pitt-Johnstown by set scores of 25-22, 21-25, 22-25 and 19-25 from Heiges Field House.
 
Shippensburg (16-8) and Pitt-Johnstown (16-7) combined for 24 aces – with UPJ's 13 aces the most by a Raider opponent this season. The visitors keyed off their strong serve with efficiency and solid passing, hitting .261 from the floor and totaling 81 digs to preserve rallies. SU hit .211 and had 74 digs of its own to go along with seven blocks.
 
Freshman Gracen Nutt slammed a team-high 14 kills and committed just two errors, swinging .286 on a team-high 42 attempts. Nutt also had seven digs.
 
Juniors Maddie Clabaugh and Emily Gardner each totaled nine kills and combined for eight of the team's 11 aces. Clabaugh had 11 digs, a season-high three aces and two blocks while Gardner had a career-high five aces – including four-in-a-row in the first set – and eight digs.
 
Senior Kaitlyn Townsend had seven kills and a team-high four block assists, while freshman Hailey Cappleman delivered another efficient performance with six kills without an error on eight attempts – swinging .750 with two blocks.
 
Sophomore setter Kearstin Davis, the reigning Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week, posted 20 digs – one short of her season high – to complement 38 assists, two kills and two block assists.

Sophomore libero Berkley Simmons also had 20 digs, marking a new career high that is five more digs than she had previously recorded in a match.

Pitt-Johnstown received a dynamic performance from Lu Alvarado, who cannoned 25 kills on a whopping 62 attempts and swung .290. Libero Gabi DiRenzo was all over the floor, stockpiling 34 digs, serving three aces and recording six assists. Setter Adi Beaz had 44 assists, six aces, 15 digs and two kills. Three other Mountain Cats each added eight kills, including Katelyn Courtney's eight kills without an error.
 
The first set featured the teams trading large runs. A 5-0 service run with Clabaugh on serve made it 11-5 SU before UPJ countered with four straight points. The Raiders then countered with a 5-0 run that included Gardner's four straight aces, but the Mountain Cats responded with seven of the next eight points. The set was tied 20-20 when the Raiders gained some separation, and a Cappleman kill gave SU a 1-0 lead.
 
The second set was entirely back and forth until the end. Shippensburg led 21-19, but Pitt-Johnstown closed on a 6-0 run, equaling the match after back-to-back aces by Beaz. SU led 7-3 and 14-12 in the third set before a 7-0 Mountain Cat run tilted the court in the visitors' favor. The Raiders got within 23-22 at the end of the frame but a service error and an Alvarado kill made it 2-1 UPJ.
 
The fourth set played out just like the second, as the match ended on a 5-0 run by the Mountain Cats that was capped off by a Beaz ace.
 
Shippensburg is on the road for its next four league matches, beginning 7 p.m. Friday at West Chester.