Shippensburg University’s women’s volleyball team traveled to Frostburg State for the Bobcat Invitational, where they went 2-1 over the weekend.
Friday, the Raiders battled Ohio Dominican University through five sets, but ultimately lost to the Panthers.
Scores went back and forth with the Raiders winning the first and third sets, 27-25 and 25-17, respectfully. ODU prevailed in the second and fourth sets, 25-22 and 25-14, respectully.
During the fifth set, SU scored first following two attack errors from ODU. The lead did not last long, and the Panthers began to pull further ahead to win the set 15-8.
The Raider offense totaled 53 kills compared to ODU’s 63. Leading Ship in these were redshirt sophomore Gracen Nutt who had 14, junior Natalya Montague with 11 and senior Isabella Bombas with 10.
Saturday, the Raiders won both matches. The first game against Pitt-Johnstown in the late morning, and the second against Frostburg State University in the afternoon.
The Raiders won in four sets against the Mountain Cats, with scores of 20-25, 25-17, 25-20 and 25-21. SU outperformed Pitt-Johnstown in every statistic except blocks, each team totaled five. The Raiders had 52 kills, 13 aces, 29 assists and 67 digs compared to the Mountain Cats’ 47, 8, 41 and 55. SU also carried a .234 hitting percentage, while Pitt-Johnstown’s sat at .216.
Leading the team against Pitt-Johnstown was senior Kayla Johnson with 11 kills and three aces. Bombas contributed another ten kills, with her ninth giving the team match point and her tenth securing the win.
In their second match of the day, the Raiders went another five sets against the Bobcats.
SU won the first set despite FSU opening with a 5-0 run. The Raiders followed suit and quickly tied the game at 8-8. The set followed consistent back and forth play between the two teams, with the score reflecting a tie ten different times. SU earned the win with a score of 25-23.
The Raiders went on to win the second set as well with a score of 25-11. FSU took the next two sets, scoring 25-22 and 25-13, which forced the fifth set. The Raiders claimed the fifth with a score of 15-8.
Junior Hailey Cappleman led the team with 18 kills in the match against the Bobcats, totaling 23 on the day. Nutt tallied another 13 kills, while Johnson provided nine. Cappleman also led the team in blocks with five.
Junior Shay Kolivoski led Shippensburg’s defense all weekend with a match-high 27 digs on Friday, then tallied another 18 on Saturday morning and 22 in the afternoon.
After this past weekend, Ship’s volleyball record sits at 5-2 overall. The Raiders are on the road again, traveling to Wheeling University on September 19 for two matches, the first against Wheeling and the second versus Fairmont State.
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