The Shippensburg University women’s volleyball team had a full weekend competing in the West Liberty University/Wheeling Jesuit University Crossover competition in West Virginia. The team split its four games over the weekend, losing both its games against the hosts.

The Raiders faced Wheeling Jesuit in their first game Friday before defeating the University of Charleston at Jesuit’s campus. The team was swept by Jesuit (25–17, 25–19, 25–11) despite strong efforts from players like Kendall Johnson and Gabriella Johnson. 

Kendall had 14 kills to go with four blocks in the match, while Gabriella had 12 digs and five kills with two blocks. Gabriella had 10 total kills, as well as 17 digs and five blocks in both games.

SU followed up with a sweep of its own against Charleston. The team once again rode stellar performances from Kendall Johnson, as well as Samantha Webber and Emily Hangen. Webber led the team with 12 kills in the match, followed closely by Johnson’s 11. Johnson once again added four blocks to make it eight total for the day.

Hangen led both teams with a stellar 32 assists in the game. She had 60 total through both games. She also had 11 digs to add to the stat sheet. Morgan DeFloria also played well, racking up 10 kills along with an ace and a block.

The Raiders totaled nine aces on the day – eight of which came in the second game – from multiple contributors, with Gabriella Johnson and Courtney Malott each earning three. Two strong performances from the Raiders, but Jesuit – the reigning champions of the Atlantic Region for six years in a row – proved too much to handle.

The second day of the team’s trip to West Virginia ended the same way, dropping the first match 3–1 (16–25, 25–21, 25–21, 25–22) against West Liberty, but defeating Fairmont State University by the same score (25–19, 25–21, 23–25, 25–16).

Top performances on the day again came from DeFloria and Hangen, leading the team in kills and assists, respectively. Hangen had 101 assists through two games and DeFloria notched an impressive 34 kills, as well as 34 digs. 

The Raiders claimed the first set against West Liberty, but dropped the three final sets by very tight margins. They had more points and more kills than West Liberty, but were unable to close out any of the tight sets. 

It was the opposite case in the second game as the Raiders were clinical in closing out sets when they had the opportunity. They had seven aces in the match and outperformed Fairmont State in both points and kills, this time the stats converting into wins.

The weekend results put the Raiders at 7–5 for the season with PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) competition coming up in their next two games against Gannon University and Mercyhurst University this weekend at home. The games are the start of a run of 11 games against PSAC opponents; some at home and some away. This stretch will be a crucial part of SU’s season if it hopes to make it into the playoffs.

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