SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Millersville volleyball team traveled to Shippensburg on Friday night, needing to win their last two conference matches to make the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) playoffs. With the win over Millersville, the Shippensburg Raiders clinched post-season play and pushed the Marauders out of playoff potential.
Shippensburg (17-11, 9-4 PSAC East) swept Millersville (16-12, 6-7 PSAC East) and currently sits at second place in the East standings while the Marauders slipped to sixth. The second set was Millersville's toughest battle with the Raiders, forcing the final score to 29-27.
HOW IT HAPPENED
(25-19, 29-27, 25-16)
- The Raiders overpowered Millersville with their intense offense and second effort in the first set, Shippensburg scored their first five-points from kills. The Marauders' defensive errors allowed the Raiders to hold a steady lead throughout the match. With Shippensburg one-point away from closing, "Ville shortened the gap with a three-point rally and created momentum, but the Raiders sealed set one with their 14th kill.
- Set two was a marathon and the Marauders' toughest battle, ending with a final score of 29-27. Bouncing back from set one, Millersville offensively turned it around by producing their highest kills of the night with 16. Back-and-forth action caused 21 ties and nine lead changes. Trailing the Raiders 22-19, Millersville went on a four-point rally which included two kills by Kylie Airesman and one from Rose Vail, giving Millersville a 23-22 lead. The Marauders were at set point twice, but Shippensburg kept the pressure and forced two ties in their last six points before claiming the set with a three-point rally.
- Shippensburg created an early lead in the final set, a four-point rally stretched them away from 'Ville 9-3. With a score of 15-8, Millersville shifted momentum back in their favor with a four-point rally, which included kills by Laurel Samko and Rylee Thomas, to trail the Raiders by three. The Marauders couldn't contain a steady Shippensburg offense who tallied 10 of the last 14 points in the match. The Marauders fell in set three with a score of 25-16.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Becca Dalstad led the team in digs with 18 which now ties her for ninth on the all-time digs list with 1,198.
- 'Ville totaled 35 kills on the night. Airesman led with 11 while Samko totaled 10.
- Emma Ludwig accounted for 31 of the team's 33 total assists in the match.
REACTION FROM HEAD COACH BRIAN SMITH
On the overall match: "We as coaches are always trying to spin our reaction to wins and losses. But the simple truth is Shippensburg was the better team tonight. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that when you have almost the same amount of hitting errors as kills, that's not a good thing. We started a little slow in set one but ended playing better volleyball. Set two was super exciting and that's what I wanted to see our players playing like. That set could have gone either way. We produced 16 kills and only four hitting errors and that almost always wins the set, but Shippensburg bested us with 22 kills. They were on their game tonight."
Closing the 2022 season tomorrow: "Tomorrow we face the top team in the East and likely on their senior day match. That's a rough matchup to end the season on so our plan is to enjoy the moment for the players leaving us. Control what we can and compete hard for each other. I'm especially proud of this class of players, amazing young woman who will clearly do what our department has as a core value, produce young adults who will go out and change the world. We are all blessed to have been a part of their development for the past couple years and we are proud of each one of them. It's my sincere hope that they have benefited as much from our program and University, and we have benefited from their contribution to us. I'm confident they will always cherish the memories and friends they have made during their time at the Ville! They will be missed; I will miss them."
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