The Shippensburg University volleyball team defeated host Clarion in a five-set thriller Thursday night as it opened the season at the Tony Banner Memorial Tournament. Set scores were 25-23, 19-25, 20-25, 25-19 and 15-12.
 
It was a rematch of the 2024 season opener in which Clarion defeated Shippensburg, 3-1. This marks the first time since 2019 that the Raiders have defeated the Golden Eagles.
 
Shippensburg (1-0) ended the match hitting .150 from the floor and recording 50 kills. Clarion (0-1) finished the match with 60 kills, hitting .141 from the floor. The Raiders out-blocked the Golden Eagles 12-11. Clarion delivered seven aces to Shippensburg's three.
 
Hailey Cappleman led the offense with a match and career-high 15 kills. Cappleman added three block assists and four digs. Gracen Nutt made her return for the Raiders and added 12 kills, finishing one dig short of a double-double. Nutt hit .243 from the floor, only committing three attack errors on 37 swings.

Jaiden Anderson handed out a career-high 23 assists and tacked on 14 digs as SU frequently employed a 6-2 rotation. Kearstin Davis added 18 assists and 10 digs.
 
Shay Kolivoski paced the Raider defense with 21 digs and led the team with two aces.
 
After a Clarion 4-1 lead, the Raiders capitalized off two Clarion attack errors to cut the deficit to one, 4-3. Clarion took another three-point lead at 12-9. A pair of kills from Nutt and a Golden Eagle error tied the set, 12-12. An ace from Kolivoski put SU ahead by two, 16-14. Clarion continued to fight back and regained the lead after two Raider errors, 18-17. A 4-0 run off four Golden Eagle errors gave the Raiders a three-point advantage, 21-18. An attack error from Clarion put SU at set point, 24-23. Nutt delivered the final kill to give Raiders the set one win.
 
The Golden Eagles controlled the second set after opening with a 6-2 lead. Kills from Isabelle Bombas and Nutt put the Raiders within five, 24-19. Clarion responded with a kill to tie the match, 1-1.   
 
SU started off set three with a 3-0 run that featured kills from Kayla Johnson and Cappleman. Neither team held more than a two-point lead until Clarion went on a 5-0 run to take the lead at 13-9. With Kolivoski on the service line, the Raiders completed a 6-0 run that featured a pair of Cappleman kills to regain the lead, 15-13. The Golden Eagles responded with an 8-2 scoring stretch that put them ahead 21-17. The Raiders were unable to cut the deficit and made the match, 2-1 in Clarion's favor.
 
The Golden Eagles carried the momentum into the fourth set and completed a 3-0 run. Two Clarion errors put the Raiders within two, 9-7. Clarion went on a 5-1 scoring stretch to increase its lead to 14-8. The Raiders answered back with a 5-1 scoring stretch of their own to cut the deficit to two, 15-13. A 6-0 run that featured kills from Natalya Montague, Berkley Simmons and Nutt gave SU the lead, 19-16. A pair of kills from Elise Bragg sparked 4-0 run to put SU at set point, 24-18. A Clarion service error gave Shippensburg the set four win to send the match to a fifth set. 
 
Both teams opened the fifth set with a 2-0 run. Kills from Montague and Clara Wildermuth gave the Raiders a two-point advantage, 6-4. Wildermuth posted a kill to push the Raider lead to 8-5. Bragg and Cappleman put down kills to make it 10-6. Cappleman and Bombas teamed up for a block and an error from Clarion made it 12-6. Cappleman recorded her 15th kill to put the Raiders within two, 13-9. The Golden Eagles responded with a 2-0 run. An attack error from Clarion made it match point for the Raiders, 14-10. Two SU attack errors, put Clarion back within two, 14-12. Nutt finished off the match with a kill.
 
Clarion got double-digit kills from three players: Claire Bickett, Finley Kearney and Raegan Stader. Haley Fledderjohann led the Golden Eagle defense with a match-high 33 digs.
 
The two teams will face each other again at Clarion in three weeks.
 
Shippensburg continues at the Tony Banner Memorial Tournament at 2 p.m. tomorrow against Seton Hill.