The Shippensburg University (SU) volleyball team rallied to win over East Stroudsburg University (ESU) in five sets at Heiges Field House on Saturday afternoon, after losing to Kutztown 3-1 the night before. Both were Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchups.

Shippensburg lost the first set 18-25 against ESU, but then took the second set with 25-17. In the third set, the Raiders saved five set points, yet still lost the set 21-25. Then the Raiders took the fourth set again with 25-17 and made it into the deciding fifth set, which they won 15-13.

It was tied 13-13 in the fifth set when the Raiders head coach Leanne Piscotty took a timeout. The Raiders took the lead and secured the victory with a big block. 

In the fifth set, senior Rachel Verhoef had multiple important kills. At the end of the game, she totaled 18 kills and led the team in that statistic. Senior Oyinda Agbale put up 17 kills and 2 assists. Agbale added three block solos and four block assists. Freshman Kearstin Davis led the team with 47 assists and added 10 digs and three aces. Fellow freshman Erica Lampus got a team-high of 15 digs.

The Raiders totaled 57 kills in the game and had a hitting percentage of 0.185, while ESU tallied 44 kills and a hitting percentage of 0.151.

On Friday, SU hosted Kutztown and won a close first set with 25-23. In the second set, Kutztown was always in the lead and SU almost closed the gap at the end of the set, but still fell to Kutztown 23-25. Kutztown´s offensive play was very strong in the last two sets. The Golden Bears had a 0.560 hitting percentage in the fourth set to take the win over the Raiders.

Sophomore outside hitter Kat Negron led the team with 16 kills and three aces, while freshman Kearstin Davis led the Raiders with 28 assists and 17 digs. 

After this weekend, Shippensburg has now an even record of 8-8, and a record of 2-1 in the PSAC. The Raiders will take on Millersville University on the road next Friday at 7 p.m. for another PSAC matchup.

Share