The Shippensburg University volleyball team downed Shepherd in four sets on Tuesday night to open its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division schedule with a win. Set scores were 25-19, 25-20, 22-25 and 25-23.
 
Shippensburg (8-6, 1-0 PSAC East) ended the match with 17 aces, its most in a match since Sept. 29, 2011 against Cheyney. Seven different Raiders contributed at least one ace. Kearstin Davis led the Raiders with seven, tying her career high that she set as a sophomore in 2023.
 
The Raiders delivered 52 kills, hitting .230 from the floor. Shepherd (10-4, 0-2 PSAC East) ended the match with 53 kills and a .225 hitting percentage. The Raiders and Rams each recorded six blocks. The Raiders delivered 17 aces to the Rams seven.
 
The Shippensburg offense was led by Gracen Nutt who recorded 15 kills with a .214 hitting percentage. Elise Bragg tallied 11 kills, hitting .132 from the floor. Bragg added a career-high three aces, a solo block and nine digs.
 
Davis dished out 36 assists and added 16 digs. Shay Kolivoski led the Raider defense with 17 digs and added an ace and four assists. Berkley Simmons tallied two aces and eight digs.  
 
The Raiders saw the first lead greater than two points after a 6-0 run in the first set that featured a pair of kills from Bragg, 12-7. A block from Isabelle Bombas, a kill from Clara Wildermuth and a Ram error completed a 3-0 run for the Raiders to increase the lead, 15-9. A 5-1 scoring stretch cut the Ram deficit to one, 18-17. A kill from Hailey Cappleman and a block from Bragg put Shippensburg ahead by three, 20-17. A pair of kills from Bragg put the Raiders three points away from taking set one. Davis delivered a trio of aces to close the set for the Raiders, 25-19.
 
The second set started in similar fashion with neither team taking a lead of more than two until the Raiders completed a 5-0 run that featured a pair of aces from Bragg, 16-12. Shepherd came back within two after a 3-1 scoring stretch. With Davis on the service line, Shippensburg went on a 4-0 run to increase its lead, 24-18. Wildermuth and Bombas closed set two with a block, 25-20.
 
The Rams got ahead early in the third set as they opened with a 4-0 run. A pair of kills from Nutt cut the deficit to two, 5-3. Another kill from Nutt sparked a 3-0 run for the Raiders that included an ace from Simmons and a kill from Bragg, 10-8. The Raiders completed a 4-1 scoring stretch to tie the set, 12-12. Shippensburg saw its first lead of the set after an ace from Kolivoski and a kill from Cappleman, 17-15. The Rams tied the set at 18 after a 2-0 run. Shepherd completed a 3-0 run to regain its lead, 21-19. The Raiders came within one after an ace from Davis, 23-22. A 2-0 run ended the third set in favor of the Rams to force a fourth set.
 
The fourth set opened with a 4-0 run for the Raiders that featured Davis' sixth ace of the match. A 3-0 run for Shippensburg increased its lead to five, 7-2. The Rams came within two after a 3-1 scoring stretch, 8-6. Shepherd saw its first lead of the set after a 4-0 run, 10-9. A Ram error and a kill from Cappleman put the Raiders back in front, 11-10. Shea Stevens notched a kill on an overpass that sparked 5-0 run and included two aces from Sophia Barrera, 16-11. Davis delivered her seventh ace of the night to help the Raiders complete a 4-0 run, 20-12. The Rams answered with a 5-1 scoring stretch to cut the deficit to three, 21-18. A kill from Nutt ended the Ram run to put the Raiders two points away from winning the match. Shepherd completed a 5-0 run to tie the set at 23. A Ram error gave the Raiders match point, 24-23. Nutt closed the match with a kill.
 
Shepherd was led by Amya Davis who recorded 14 kills, hitting .250. Emily Ryder added 13 kills with a .367 hitting percentage. Macy Buso dished out a match-high 41 assists. Madigan Faircloth led the Ram defense with 18 digs.
 
Shippensburg returns to action at 6 p.m. Friday at Lock Haven.