It is official — the Shippensburg University volleyball team is on fire, capturing its 12th and 13th straight wins against Seton Hill University and the University of California Pennsylvania (UCAL), respectively.
The Raiders performed well in their first home series of the season, posting a dominant victory in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), defeating the Seton Hill Griffins by match scores of 25–19, 25–20 and 25–20 — another straight set sweep. The Raiders grabbed their 12th consecutive win and 13th overall to continue the impressive stretch. SU had several players with great numbers in the matches.
Junior outside hitter Gabriella Johnson recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 10 kills and 18 digs on the day. Junior defensive specialist Megan Forstburg, had 20 digs and five assists on the day. One of the leading seniors, outside hitter Morgan DeFloria, hit an average of .311 on 45 attempts, contributing 19 kills along with two blocks.
Junior middle blocker Samantha Webber had 11 kills, an average hitting percentage of .455 and was a contributor on the defensive side with five blocks. Sophomore setter Emily Hangen had another impressive day on the offensive side.
Junior Samantha Webber leads active Raider starters in hitting percentage (.318).
She totaled 18 digs to go along with a team-leading 41 assists. Hangen has now racked up 632 assists on the season, averaging roughly 40 assists per match.
The Raiders’ winning streak at this point was 12 matches, which is the longest streak since the 2013 season. They also have swept seven straight opponents during that span.
The team handily defeated California with set scores of 25–18, 25–16 and 25–22 for SU’s eighth straight sweep. The Raiders officially surpassed the school-record of 12 consecutive winning matches back in 2013.
Hangen had another big night, continuing her impressive season and notching 38 assists to go along with 10 digs. DeFloria and Johnson both had double-doubles on the night and continue to lead the team on offense. Johnson had 10 kills in the match with a hitting percentage of .259 and a team-high 19 digs.
DeFloria had a team-high 12 kills and hit .184 to go along with 14 digs. The Raiders middles continue to play at a very high level.
Junior middle hitter Kendall Johnson had eight kills in the match, four blocks and also hit .533 on 15 attempts. Talented junior Samantha Webber had eight kills and a hitting percentage of .278, contributing to her team-high percentage of .318.
Forstburg continued to play at a high level, contributing 18 digs and two assists in the match. The Raiders are now 14–2 on the season and a perfect 4–0 in PSAC play, and are quite possibly the most dangerous team in the league at the moment.
Over both matches this weekend, Johnson had 20 kills, 37 digs and a hitting percentage of .217. DeFloria had 31 kills, a hitting percentage of .245 on 94 attempts and also added 23 digs. Hangen had an average of 13 assists and 4.6 digs per set.
The Raiders as a team had a hitting percentage of .248. The Raiders will travel to Kutztown and East Stroudsburg University on Friday and Saturday in two more crucial PSAC matchups.
They will return after this weekend for a five-game home stretch of big PSAC matches, including West Chester, Millersville, Bloomsburg and Lock Haven.
Tipoff will be at 7 p.m. against Kutztown and at 1 p.m. from East Stroudsburg as SU looks to extend its new record win streak.
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