The Shippensburg University volleyball team was downed in four sets by Clarion Friday night in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover contest at Waldo Tippin Gymnasium. Set scores were 15-25, 26-24, 23-25 and 22-25.
 
Shippensburg (6-6) could not overcome 37 errors (30 on attack, seven on serves) as Clarion (7-6) hit .185 compared to the Raiders' .086. Both teams had eight aces but the Golden Eagles out-blocked the Raiders 12-4. There were five lead changes in each of the tightly-contested final three sets.
 
Isabelle Bombas totaled 10 kills – including six in the final set – while hitting .304 over 23 attempts. She had a hand in three of Shippensburg's four blocks. Elise Bragg had a team-high 13 kills, swinging .133, and added eight digs.
 
Gracen Nutt and Hailey Cappleman combined for 15 kills, 18 digs and four of SU's eight aces but hit just .027 overall.
 
SU reverted to a 5-1 setup on the night; Kearstin Davis had a match-high 37 assists along with 15 digs, two kills and two aces.
 
Two of the best liberos in the Atlantic Region once again went toe-to-toe. Clarion's Hailey Fledderjohann and SU junior Shay Kolivoski entered the night ranked at the top of the PSAC leaderboard in digs and maintained that pace with excellent play.
 
Fledderjohann had 26 digs, and Kolivoski 25. The duo also combined to receive 34 serves – Kolivoski did not have a reception error on 19 attempts while Fledderjohann had just one on 15 attempts. Each player had two assists as well.
 
Natalie Carrick delivered a triple-double for the Golden Eagles. As one of the "two" in Clarion's apparent 6-2 rotation, Carrick walloped 11 kills, handed out 22 assists, and recorded 16 digs while hitting .391 from the floor on 23 swings. She also contributed to the final two points in the fourth and deciding set – one being a kill and the other a block.
 
Raegan Stader led all players with 14 kills, while Claire Bickett had 10 kills. Finley Kearney and Grayson Kinsman combined for 10 block assists and nine kills on just two errors.
 
The Golden Eagles scored the first six points of the match and were never legitimately threatened in the first set. Clarion led by as many as 11 points in the frame (14-3). SU got within 19-14 late in the frame, but the hosts responded by closing the first set on a 6-1 run to take it 25-15.
 
Clarion scored the first three points of the second set and led 5-1 before a 5-0 run gave the Raiders their first lead of the match in a set. SU led 11-8 until a 7-0 run put the Golden Eagles ahead by four points. The Raiders chipped away, ultimately using a 4-0 run to tie the score at 17-17. Clarion led 23-20 until kills by Bragg, Cappleman and Nutt intermixed with an ace gave the Raiders a set point. After a service error evened the score, a Nutt kill and a Cappleman ace gave SU the second set and evened the match.
 
Neither team led by more than two points in the third set until, with the score tied 12-12, Clarion embarked upon a 5-0 run. Trailing 18-13, SU countered with a 5-0 run to even the score at 18-18. It again remained within two points until the Golden Eagles reached set point at 24-21. A kill by Nutt and an attack error helped the Raiders stave off two set points, but a Natalie Carrick kill gave the Golden Eagles the third set.  
 
The fourth set opened with some errant hitting as eight of the first 14 points were attack errors (only one of which was blocked). With the score tied 15-15, a long procedural delay of seven minutes occurred. The stoppage seemed to involve a substitution check but ultimately went for naught.
 
After play resumed, Clarion built a 19-17 lead, but a bad set and consecutive attack errors put SU up 20-19. The Golden Eagles countered with four of the next five points. A Cappleman kill got the Raiders within one, but Karrick delivered a kill to create match point and Clarion punctuated the night with its 12th block of the match to win it.
 
Friday night's contest was the second meeting of the season between the two teams inside Waldo Tippin Gymnasium. SU won its season opener in five sets over the Golden Eagles on Sept. 4 at Clarion's Tony Banner Memorial Classic.
 
Shippensburg is back in action at 2 p.m. tomorrow for a crossover matchup at Slippery Rock.