The Shippensburg University volleyball team could not get past Western Division No. 2 seed Gannon Wednesday night, dropping a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Quarterfinal to the Golden Knights by set scores of 20-25, 19-25 and 17-25 at the Highmark Events Center.
Shippensburg (19-11) could not match the efficiency of Gannon (22-5), the current No. 1 team in the NCAA Atlantic Region National Power Index (NPI). The Golden Knights out-killed SU by 10 (44-34), hit .243 from the floor, and out-aced the Raiders 8-2.
A kill by senior
Natalya Montague had the Raiders down by just two points at the 15-13 mark of the first set. The two teams exchanged the lead four times and played to seven ties through the first 28 points. Gannon eventually stretched its lead, with SU getting as close as 23-20 late in the frame.
In the second set, a 5-0 run allowed the Raiders to flip a 12-8 deficit into a 13-12 lead. Senior
Shay Kolivoski was on the service line for four of the points. SU was leading 15-14 when the Golden Knights erupted with a 7-0 run to take control.
The Raiders stayed in stride with the Golden Knights well into the third set as well, overcoming an early 8-2 deficit to trail by just two points at 17-15. Gannon then closed the match with another 8-2 run to advance to the semifinals.
Montague delivered eight kills without an error and hit .321. She also had two solo blocks and two block assists. Sophomore
Elise Bragg had team highs of nine kills and 15 digs and hit .167. Bragg also served both of SU's aces on the night. Junior
Clara Wildermuth contributed six kills.
Gannon's Abbey Williams (14 kills, .406) and Sydney Wake (nine kills, .500) combined for 23 kills and just two attack errors over 48 swings to hit .438 from the floor. Williams had three aces as well. Libero Alexis Fowler had a match-high 23 digs.
Kolivoski finished the night with nine digs, marking just the third time this season she finished a match shy of double digits. Her 1,833 career digs rank fourth in school history while her 165 career aces are tied for ninth all-time in the Raider record books.
