The Shippensburg University volleyball team took down Chestnut Hill, 3-1, in a road non-conference match at Sorgenti Arena on Tuesday night. Set scores were 25-19, 25-27, 25-23 and 25-18.
 
Shippensburg (10-5) served 16 aces—the most in a match by the Raiders since Oct. 20, 2012. Three different Raiders contributed three or more aces, with junior Kat Negron leading the team with a season high of five.
 
Freshman Gracen Nutt was stellar on the attack, smashing a career-high 17 kills for the highest kill output by a Raider in match this season. She added eight digs, a block, and an ace. Senior Kaitlyn Townsend also reached double-digit kills with 13, matching a career high, while committing only one error for a team-best .600 hitting percentage that establishes her new career single-game best.
 
Sophomore Kearstin Davis was active from the setter spot, recording 46 assists for her second-highest total this season. She added 10 digs to complete her ninth double-double of the year with assists and digs to complement three service aces.
 
Juniors Maddie Clabaugh and Emily Gardner turned in strong defensive performances with 19 and 13 digs, respectively; Clabaugh's 19 digs are a new career high.
 
A competitive opening set featured numerous lead changes and tie scores before Shippensburg managed to pull away in the final few points. Locked at 19-19 for the sixth tie score of the set, SU scored the next six points to close out the frame, 25-19. With five aces, it was a strong showing for the Raiders on serve; Negron and freshman Shay Kolivoski posted two aces each.
 
Down 10-5 to start the second, Shippensburg recovered with an 8-2 run to grab a slim lead at 13-12. From there, it was a back-and-forth affair as the teams experienced eight more tie scores, but this time the Griffins captured the set with two final kills.
 
After SU went up 6-5 in the third set, Chestnut Hill challenged for the lead on multiple occasions, but never managed to regain an advantage. The Griffins used a 5-0 run to tie the score at 22-22, but after an SU timeout, the Raiders slowed their momentum and were able to close the set with a Townsend kill. Nutt led the offense with six kills while Clabaugh, Negron, and Kolivoski combined for six aces.
 
The fourth set proved to be Shippensburg's most efficient as it hit .297 with 15 kills. Tied for the final time at 11-11, a subsequent 7-1 run allowed the Raiders to take control of the remainder of the match. It was sophomore Isabelle Bombas who secured the victory with her career-high seventh kill of the night. Bombas also had three blocks and hit .545, committing just one attack error on 11 swings.
 
SU returns home to host Lock Haven in a PSAC Eastern Division matchup this Friday at 7 p.m. at Heiges Field House.