Whether it was the 846-mile bus ride, or just the feeling out process for a young squad, the Shippensburg University volleyball team struggled in its opening matches at the Flagler Saints Invitational tournament at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida last weekend.
The Raiders put the three early losses behind them quickly however, as SU earned four wins over the weekend in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC)/ Mountain East Conference crossover, to improve to 5-3 after two weeks of play.
SU started the weekend strong with a victory over Urbana University in straight sets (25-14, 25-20, 26-24) on Sept. 8, before wrapping up Friday’s action with a 3-1 win over West Virginia State University (25-17, 25-27, 25-20, 25-21).
Against Urbana, the Raiders held multiple early leads, including racing out to leads of 9-3, 17-9 and 22-11 to take the second set after a six-point run to take the first set. Urbana challenged SU in the final set before SU rolled out an 8-1 scoring run to earn a sweep. Courtney Malott’s five kills, 11 digs and two block assists proved to be a deciding effort in the win.
Later, SU faced West Virginia State, where Webber had one of her best matches of the season thus far. Webber had 16 kills against the Yellow Jackets alone, as well as six blocks. The Raiders’ setter Emily Hangen had a tremendous match, tallying 45 assists and four kills.
Webber and Morgan DeFloria led the way for SU on Friday, while Kendall Johnson and Emily Hangen also contributed in the wins. Samantha Webber showcased why she was honored as a PSAC Freshman of the Year last season, registering 23 kills and nine blocks on the day. DeFloria finished the night with 19 kills and 25 digs, while serving five aces.
Riding the momentum of Friday’s victories, the Raiders came into Saturday’s match against the College of Charleston and quickly set the tone, on the way to a win in four sets (25-21, 19-25, 25-23, 25-15), in which SU dropped only the second game.
SU dominated the Golden Eagles in the final set, scoring nine of the final 10 points to grab the win. DeFloria once again dominated, registering 12 kills, while Johnson led SU with 14 kills in the match. Hangen registered 39 assists in the win.
SU wasted no time to finish off its final match of the weekend in style, grabbing another straight-set victory over Notre Dame of Ohio with set scores of 25-22, 25-14 and 25-15.
SU once again showcased its young talent with a strong performance by freshman Alana Pergine who registered seven kills off the bench, without an error.
The Raiders, now winners of five-in-a-row, will travel out of the state once more, as the Raiders will matchup with fierce Atlantic Region opponents in Wheeling Jesuit University and West Liberty University. SU will face Charleston and Fairmont State University over the weekend as well.
The Raiders begin the road trip Saturday Sept. 16 at Wheeling Jesuit.
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