SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University volleyball team rallied to earn its third straight Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division victory on Friday night, defeating Millersville in four sets at Heiges Field House. Set scores were 26-28, 25-22, 25-17, 25-22.
 
Shippensburg (7-9, 3-1 PSAC East) finished the match hitting .261 from the floor, collecting 65 kills. Millersville (8-9, 1-3) collected 64 kills with a .229 hitting percentage. The Raiders out-blocked the visitors 6-5 and collected five aces to Millersville's two.
 
The Raiders were paced by senior Emily Gardner (Avon, Ohio/Avon) who recorded 16 kills and hit .208 from the floor. Gardner added 21 digs and two block assists. Freshman Clara Wildermuth was a key piece for the Raider offense hitting .435 from the floor and slamming 11 kills on 23 swings with only one error.
 
Senior Kat Negron led SU from the service line collecting a match-high four aces. Junior Kearstin Davis handed out 53 assists while adding three kills, 11 digs and a block assist. Sophomore Shay Kolivoski led the defense with 25 digs.
 
The Raiders recorded an early 7-1 scoring run that included three kills from junior Kayla Johnson, a kill from senior Maddie Clabaugh and a kill from junior Isabelle Bombas to lead 10-5. Negron delivered an ace, and a 3-0 service run increased the Raider lead to 16-8. Millersville layer responded with an 8-0 run to take over the lead, 22-21. The Marauders arrived at set point first, 24-23. SU stopped the Millersville set point three different times before the visitors closed the set, 28-26.
 
Set two was a back-and-forth battle between the teams with neither team getting more than a two-point lead until the end of the set. At 20-20, Wildermuth delivered a kill to put the Raiders in the lead 21-20. Kolivoski delivered an ace, 22-20. The Raiders arrived at set point after a Millersville error and ended the set with a block from sophomore Natalya Montague and Gardner, 25-22.
 
In the third set, a 6-0 run featured a pair of Negron aces, a Gardner kill, and blocks from Bombas and Gardner that put the Raiders ahead, 12-6. Kills from Montague and Gardner increased the lead to 20-14. A 3-1 run put the Raiders at set point, 24-16. A Millersville service error gave set three to the Raiders, 25-17.
 
Kills from Bombas, Wildermuth and Johnson gave SU an early lead in Set 4, 7-4. Negron delivered a 5-0 run from the service line that included kills from Bombas, Davis and a pair of kills from Gardner, 17-8. The Marauders cut the deficit to three after an 8-2 scoring run, 19-16. Millersville came within one at 23-22. A pair of kills from Gardner ended the match in favor of the Raiders, 25-22.
 
Shippensburg remains home on Saturday to take on West Chester at 1 p.m. at Heiges Field House.
 

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