Gallery: (10-28-2026) 2026 Volleyball vs. Jefferson
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University volleyball team took non-conference opponent Jefferson to the brink on Wednesday night but came up just short in its comeback bid, dropping a five-setter to the Rams by scores of 20-25, 27-25, 23-25, 27-25 and 13-15 in non-conference action at Heiges Field House.
Shippensburg (16-9) and Jefferson (22-5) had each of the final four sets decided by just two points in a match that featured 35 tie scores and four lead changes. In the fourth set alone there were 15 ties and six lead changes, as neither team lead by more than two over the final 29 points of the frame.
Both teams committed 31 attack errors, totaled 97 digs and registered 13 blocks; Jefferson had three more kills and two more aces than Shippensburg while the Raiders finished with 11 service errors to the Rams' nine.
It was also the second straight match in which SU totaled 63 kills and 13 blocks; as the Raiders matched their totals from last Saturday's four-set win at Kutztown.
Sophomore
Augusta DeVos led the Raiders with 14 kills – her second-highest single-match total in her career – while hitting .147 from the floor on a career-high 34 attempts. DeVos finished with a career-high six blocks (one solo, five assisted). Classmate
Mya Davis added 11 kills on a career-high 35 swings and also contributed to a career-high six blocks (all assisted).
Senior
Natalya Montague was the most efficient Raider in the match, hitting .286 on 35 attempts (13 kills, three errors). Montague also had a hand in six blocks, including two solo.
Redshirt-sophomore
Riley Blank had 10 kills and hit .205; she had only two errors despite equaling her career high with 39 attempts. Sophomore
Elise Bragg finished with 12 kills on a career-high 51 swings and served two of the four Raider aces.
Junior
Jaiden Anderson made it back-to-back matches with a career high in assists, totaling 54 on the night. SU's 63 kills were distributed amongst just seven players; Anderson had two and senior
Kylie Snyder delivered a pivotal kill in the fourth set.
Shippensburg's season-high 97 digs included 26 by senior
Shay Kolivoski, 20 by Bragg, 19 by Anderson (which matches her career high), and 13 each from juniors
Shea Stevens and
Sophia Barrera.
Each team delivered its most efficient hitting of the night in the opening frame. Jefferson hit .326 from the floor (18 kills, four errors) while Shippensburg hit .270 (14 kills, four errors). In the second set, which had seven ties and four lead changes, the Rams had 12 attack errors and the Raiders had six.
The Raiders raced out to a 9-3 lead in the second set and later led 15-9; the two teams combined for 12 attack errors over the first 24 points. The Rams used a 5-0 run to even the match at 18-18, leading to the first of several super-tight seesaw finishes as neither team led by more than two points the rest of the way.
SU staved off a set point with a DeVos kill to make it 25-25, and after a bad pass by the Rams created a Raider set point, Davis and Montague teamed up for a block that made it 1-1.
Jefferson had 13 kills on just two errors in the third set and out-blocked Shippensburg 5-1, yet the score managed to be tied at 21-21 late in the frame. After a Gabby Titus kill, Ram middle Liz Tanis contributed to a pair of blocks. Davis and DeVos delivered a block and Montague ripped a kill to stave off two set points, but an unfortunate net violation gave the Rams a 2-1 lead.
The teams combined for 22 errors in the fourth set (15 on attack, seven on service). SU maintained several four-point leads, the latest being at 14-10, until a 6-0 Ram run put the visitors up two.
After a service error made it 16-15, neither team led by more than one point for the duration of the set. In fact, the score was tied at every remaining interval (16-16 through 25-25). The Raiders successfully fought off two match points, as a Montague kill made it 24-24 and a Blank kill made it 25-25. In the end, a Ram attack error and a Bragg kill made it a 2-2 match and resulted in the first time this season that
Thunderstruck emanated from the arena sound system.
Shippensburg scored three of the first four points in the fifth set. With the score 6-6, Jefferson went on a 4-0 run that ultimately proved the difference. SU called its final timeout down 13-9 and then faced four match points with the score at 14-10. Blank delivered a pair of kills around a Jefferson attack error to make it 14-13, but after the final Ram timeout, Tanis administered the final kill to end a two-hour, 14-minute marathon.
Tanis finished the match with 16 kills on just two errors; she hit .467 to go along with six blocks. Pemi Areola had 12 kills and hit .310; libero Kate Hines led all players with 28 digs. Emily McKenna, who entered the match averaging 11.6 kills per match (303 on the season), finished with 10 but hit just .021 on 47 swings.
Shippensburg is back in action at 6 p.m. Friday when it returns to conference play at Millersville.
