SHIPPENSBURG – The East Stroudsburg University volleyball team advanced to the PSAC Semifinals after sweeping Shippensburg in a quarterfinals match on Wednesday night inside Heiges Field House. The set scores were 25-18, 25-17, 25-21.
The Warriors revenged their pair of losses to Shippensburg earlier this season, moving to 15-13 overall, while the Raiders finish the year 18-12.
ESU will travel West on Saturday for a PSAC Semifinals match against No. 1 (W) Gannon at a time to be announced.
Notables vs. Shippensburg
- Redshirt junior Kaylee LoPresto notched her eighth double-double of the season after totaling 10 kills and 11 digs
- Junior Claire Choloux recorded eight kills and five digs, while freshman Anna Coulter added seven kills, three digs, five blocks (four solo) and four aces
- Junior Sydney Stone had four kills and 13 digs to go along with a pair of blocks
- Sophomores Makaela McComas and Taylor Haan each had double digit assists with 16 and 14, respectively. McComas also added four aces
- Junior Makayla Baca finished with 23 digs to raise her season total to 459
- ESU hit .160 as a team on 35 kills and 16 errors and the Warriors forced Shippensburg into their worst effort of the season at .000 (27 kills, 27 errors)
- Shippensburg held a slim edge in blocks, 11-10, but the Warriors had the advantage in aces (9-7)
How it Happened vs. Shippensburg
- The Warriors came out swinging in the opening set, using five kills to take an 8-2 lead over Shippensburg. Out of a Raiders' timeout, ESU stretched their advantage to 16-7 after scoring eight of the next 13 points. Shippensburg would respond by using a 6-3 run to cut their deficit to 19-13 but ESU closed out strong the rest of the way, earning a 25-18 first set victory over the Raiders for a 1-0 lead in the match.
- Trailing 5-4 to begin the second set, the Warriors ripped off seven straight points to pull ahead 11-5. Not even a timeout could slow down ESU as the Warriors proceeded to on a 11-3 run to stretch their lead to 22-8. The Raiders battled back with a 9-1 spurt, but ESU finished off the set at 25-17 for a 2-0 advantage.
- Shippensburg raced out to a 5-0 edge in the third set, but the Warriors quickly responded by scoring eight of the next 10 points to grab an 8-7 lead. The teams traded the next couple points until the ESU used a 7-2 run to push their advantage to 16-12. Shippensburg answered by trimming their deficit to one point at 19-18, but the Warriors outscored the Raiders, 6-3, the rest of the way to earn the sweep.
Up Next
- The Warriors advance to play Gannon, the No. 1 seed in the West, on Saturday in the PSAC Semifinals from the Highmark Events Center
