SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University volleyball team came up on the short end of its home opener Friday night, dropping a marathon five-setter to regional rival Shepherd to open Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division play. The Rams won the final three sets to claim the victory by scores of 24-26, 23-25, 27-25, 25-19 and 15-12.
 
Shippensburg (3-9, 0-1 PSAC East) and Shepherd (9-4, 1-0) each totaled 69 kills on the night, but the visitors hit to a .264 efficiency compared to a .194 rate for the Raiders. Ship out-aced the Rams 10-7, but Shepherd out-blocked the Raiders, 9-6.
 
Junior setter Kearstin Davis recorded a career-high 60 assists – the most by a Raider in a single match since Emily Hangen had 69 assists on Dec. 5, 2019 in the NCAA Tournament versus Millersville. Davis's previous high of 56 assists was achieved twice as a freshman. She added two kills, two aces and a season-high 18 digs.
 
Senior Emily Gardner posted her fifth straight double-double and her ninth of the season by crunching a team-high 15 kills, recording 18 digs and hitting .170 from the floor. Junior Isabelle Bombas delivered 14 kills and four blocks from the middle while hitting .300.
 
Freshman Clara Wildermuth was strong off the bench, crunching 13 kills to just two errors while hitting .379 in her four sets of floor time. Sophomore Natalya Montague delivered a career-high 12 kills while hitting .276.
 
Sophomore Shay Kolivoski and senior Erica Lampus combined for seven aces and 36 digs on the night.
 
The Rams achieved their first win at Heiges Field House since 2000, ending an 11-match skid on the Raiders' home court. Rylee Lenz paced the visitors with a match-high 20 kills on just four errors, hitting .381 with four blocks. Sophia Ryan had 13 kills, five blocks and hit .500. Libero Harli Zeitz led all players with 34 digs, and Sydney Babb was a kill short of a double-double (9 kills, 19 digs).
 
Shepherd got an early lead with a 4-0 run, 5-2. A kill from sophomore Hailey Cappleman and a Ram error put the Raiders within two, 8-6. The teams continued to exchange points and Shepherd remained in the lead, 16-11. Kills from Montague and Cappleman and an ace from Lampus put the Raiders within two again, 16-14, but the Rams remained in the lead until set point at 24-22. The Raiders responded with a 4-0 run – kills from Cappleman and Bombas followed by back-to-back aces by Kolivoski to win the set.  
 
In similar fashion to Set 1, Shepherd gained an early lead, 4-1. The Raiders tied the set at 5-5. Shippensburg took the lead at 12-10, after two Shepherd errors and a Bombas kill. Shepherd came back to claim the lead at 23-21. Undaunted, SU capitalized on back-to-back Ram errors, and then used a Wildermuth kill and a Lampus ace to complete a 4-0 run and win Set 2, 25-23.
 
The Raiders started Set 3 with a 7-0 scoring run to lead 8-1. Shepherd responded with a 7-0 scoring run of its own to tie the set at 8-8. A 4-0 run put the Rams ahead, 15-11. Kills from Bombas and Wildermuth put the Raiders within two, 17-15. Shepherd maintained the lead, 22-18. A kill from Montague, a Ram error and an ace from senior Kat Negron got the Raiders within one, 22-21. Shepherd made it to set point at 24-22, but the Raiders once again were hard to eliminate and answered with a 3-0 scoring run to put them at match point with the help of two aces from Davis, 25-24. The Raiders were unable to close the match, however, and the Rams claimed the set with a 3-0 scoring run, 27-25.
 
The momentum for Shepherd continued into set four with a 5-0 scoring run. The Raiders answered with a 3-0 scoring run off two Kolivoski aces and a Bombas kill, 7-5. The Rams increased their lead with a 4-0 scoring run, 12-6. The Raiders were unable to cut the deficit; Shepherd forced a fifth set with a 25-19 win.
 
The fifth set opened with a kill from Bombas, 1-0. A kill from Wildermuth and a Ram error gave Shippensburg a 3-1 lead. The teams battled back and forth and tied seven times before Shepherd used a 4-0 scoring run to lead 12-9. The Raiders responded with a kills from Montague and Bombas to come within one, 12-11. A 2-0 run put Shepherd at match point, 14-11. A kill from Shepherd ended the match, 15-12.
 
Shippensburg hosts Chestnut Hill at 1 p.m. Saturday for a non-conference match from Heiges Field House.