The Shippensburg University volleyball team got back in the win column Friday night with a four-set victory in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division play at West Chester. Set scores were 25-19, 25-13, 24-26 and 25-16 at Hollinger Field House.
 
Shippensburg (17-8, 8-1) received a pair of dynamic offensive performances from senior Kaitlyn Townsend and junior Kat Negron. The duo combined for 28 kills on 42 attempts and swung an incredible .619 from the floor.
 
Townsend had 13 kills on just 19 attempts and did not commit an attack error, swinging a career-best .684. Nine of her 13 kills came in the first two sets. She added two block solos and three block assists to complement her offensive efforts.
 
It is the most efficient hitting performance by a Raider in a match in 15 years, since Kali Antolik hit .812 (14 kills, one error, 16 attempts) in a sweep of Millersville on Oct. 7, 2008.
 
It is also the second time this season that Townsend has contributed double-digit kills without an attack error. Against Millersville just two weeks ago, she had 14 kills without an error and hit .636.
 
Negron's two most prolific offensive performances this season have now come against the Golden Rams. She led the Raiders Friday night with 15 kills on just 23 swings and was charged with only two errors, resulting in a .565 hitting percentage. Her career-best percentage of .591 came in the previous meeting two weeks ago in which she slammed 14 kills and just one error in 22 attempts.
 
Overall, SU hit a season-best .358 from the floor, crunching 56 kills to just 12 errors, and recorded a season-high 11 blocks. It is Shippensburg's second-most efficient performance over the last four seasons, and its best since hitting .360 against Charleston on Sept. 14, 2019.
 
Freshman Gracen Nutt finished the night with 13 kills and three block assists. Nutt had 10 kills and hit .292 over the course of the final three sets.
 
Junior Maddie Clabaugh had seven kills and just one error, hitting .316, to go along with eight digs, a solo block and four block assists. Freshman Hailey Cappleman slammed six kills and had a team-high five block assists.
 
Sophomore setter Kearstin Davis tallied 46 assists, had 10 digs and served three of SU's six aces. Sophomore libero Berkley Simmons led the Raiders with 13 digs, including 10 over the course of the final two sets.
 
West Chester (9-12, 2-7) got 12 kills and nine digs from Lexy Caltabiano, while Sydney Heffner provided 16 digs and three aces.
 
In the first set, SU began to pull away with a five-point service run from Davis that resulted in a 16-12 lead. WCU only got within two points once, at 19-17, as the Raiders eventually pulled away. A Cappleman ace wrapped the first set.
 
Shippensburg's 9-2 run to open the second set was insurmountable, as the Raiders bookended the frame with an 8-1 run to take a decisive 2-0 lead.
 
The third set featured 11 ties and four lead changes. SU fought off a set point but WCU rallied with a kill and a block to make it 2-1. In the fourth and final set, SU again opened with a 9-2 run. The Golden Rams got within three at 18-15 when the Raiders closed on a 7-1 run to win the match.
 
Shippensburg is back in action at 2 p.m. tomorrow at Millersville.