The Shippensburg University volleyball team hosted three matches at Heiges Field House this past week after being on the road for 16 straight games. 

Shippensburg defeated the Chestnut Hill Griffins in its home-opener on Wednesday in three sets with scores of 25-12, 25-12 and 25-7. 

The Raiders totaled 44 kills hitting .333 for a season high. Ten different players recorded at least one kill. 

Shippensburg held Chestnut Hill to a negative hitting percentage of -.114, out-blocking them eight to four while delivering eight aces to the Griffins’ four.

Junior Hailey Cappleman led the Raider offense with a match-high 14 kills and .722 hitting percentage. She committed only one error on 18 swings and added six block assists.

Freshman Elise Bragg recorded nine kills with a .400 hitting percentage. Bragg also tallied two aces and six digs.

The Raiders made quick work of the Griffins, jumping to a 15-5 lead after going on 5-0 and 4-0 runs. Cappleman delivered a kill to close the first set.  

In the second set, the Raiders went on a 6-0 run to take a 20-5 lead. The Griffins responded with a 4-0 run, but a block from Cappleman and sophomore Clara Wildermuth sealed the 2-0 advantage. 

In the third set, the Raiders completed a 15-0 run that featured three aces. Freshman Mya Davis recorded her first kill as a Raider to complete the 3-0 sweep. 

The volleyball team returned to action on Friday night to host Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division opponent East Stroudsburg. 

Using the home crowd to its advantage, Shippensburg defeated East Stroudsburg in three sets, 25-16, 25-18 and 25-20. 

Shippensburg totaled 39 kills while hitting .271 and added 10 aces on the night. East Stroudsburg delivered 28 kills with a .098 hitting percentage and added five kills. 

The SU offense was led by redshirt sophomore Gracen Nutt, who recorded a match-high 11 kills with a .458 hitting percentage. Nutt committed zero errors on 24 swings and added five digs and ace to her stellar outing. 

Nutt said the team came in “with confidence … knowing we were going to have to be resilient and smart to take advantage of our shots.” 

She highlighted the momentum and energy of the home crowd supporting the team whether something good or bad happens. 

Bragg recorded eight kills with a .214 hitting percentage. She also had a match-high three aces and 11 digs. 

Bragg said, “Today was a big game for us to win so we just had to play our role in whatever we had to do and do our job.”

Senior Kearstin Davis tallied 32 assists and tacked on two aces, 11 digs and a kill.

 Junior Shay Kolivoski led the defense with 14 digs and tallied three assists.  

The Raiders completed a 4-0 run in first set to take a 17-10 lead. Nutt ended the match with a kill, 25-16. 

ESU went on a 3-0 run in the second set to jump out 7-5. The Raiders tied the score with a kill and an ace from Bragg.

 The Warriors then completed a 5-2 scoring stretch to regain the lead 12-9. The Raiders responded with a 7-0 run and a 4-0 run to take the second set. 

Shippensburg carried the momentum into the third set to take a 12-6 lead. The Raiders surrendered a 7-1 scoring stretch to give up the lead, 15-14 but responded with a 5-0 run. Cappleman closed the match with a kill to end it, 25-20. 

Head coach LeAnne Piscotty said she “thought the team prepared well the past week working on a lot of different shots and watching film and it showed today as we executed some of those shots.”

When asked how the team has been able to be so dominant on the court the past two games Piscotty responded that the first six weeks on the road facing tough competition prepared the team well for conference play. 

She mentioned the many different lineups the team has and how they are starting to find consistency in their key performers. 

She said it was “really special to have the home crowd and our parents rooting for us after being away for six weeks.” 

She talked about maintaining the team’s energy and how its important the parents and families support them on the road and even more at home. 

The team closed out its week with a wild win over Kutztown in a PSAC Eastern Division matchup. Set scores were 25-19, 23-25, 25-20, 27-29 and 17-15.

Shippensburg had 63 kills and hit for .167. Kutztown recorded 56 kills with a .112 hitting percentage. 

The two teams combined for 119 kills and delivered 11 aces each. The Raiders out blocked the Golden Bears 10 to six.

Nutt once again led the Raiders with a career-high 19 kills, hitting .163 and added a match high and career-high six aces and eight digs. 

Bragg ended the game with 15 kills and a .209 hitting percentage. She tallied a career-high 27 digs and tacked on three block assists. 

Cappleman contributed 13 kills and hit .265 from the floor.

Davis directed the SU offense with a season-high 49 assists, served up three aces and racked up 18 digs. 

Kolivoski led the defense, tying her career high with 29 digs. 

The Raiders controlled the first set going on runs of 4-0 and 5-1. 

After taking a 13-8 lead in the second set, Kutztown fought its way back completing runs of 5-2 and 5-0 to take over the lead and the match. 

In the third set, both teams went on multiple runs, but the Raiders were able to close it out with a 4-0 run.

The Raiders once again took the lead 15-10 in the fourth set but a 7-1 scoring stretch by the Golden Bears gave them the lead. 

The Raiders regained the lead off a pair of kills from Nutt to put the set at match point 26-25 but the Golden Bears prevailed off a 4-1 scoring stretch to force Set 5.

The fifth set featured 11 ties and seven lead changes between the two teams. 

After ties of 14 and 15, the Raiders went ahead 16-15 off a block from senior Isabelle Bombas and junior Kylie Snyder. 

An error from Kutztown finally ended the match, giving Shippensburg the victory. 

Shippensburg improves to 13-6 overall and 5-0 in the PSAC East. 

The Raiders will travel to West Chester on Friday to take on the Golden Rams in a PSAC Eastern Division matchup at 6 p.m.

Share