ETTRICK, VA --The Virginia State Volleyball team (1-6) loses a back-and-fourth battle against Shippensburg (21-25, 25-16, 18-25, 25-18, 10-15) in a long hard-fought match that lasted an hour and a half.


Amaya Cooper had the VSU Multipurpose center rocking with a team-high nine kills which also ties her personal best. Cooper earned a personal best four digs along with four blocks which led to 11.5 points in the contest. Jennah Kareem's production was off the charts as she set a new season-high and game-high in aces with six. Kareem also tacked on 6 kills, six digs and a block which allowed her to lead the team in points with 12.5. Taniyah Epps and Leyla Conley each added four blocks at the net. VSU is fortunate to have not one but two elite senior setters as Makenzy Johnson led the team with 20 assists while Emma Quarles added 16. Najlaa Williams displayed elite athleticism after leading the match with 17 digs which was also a personal best. Alexis Baker made a noticeable impact in the match as well as she added a personal best 13 digs and her first kill of the season.


Game Notes

• Jennah Kareem was everywhere on the court as she finished with a team season-high six aces along with six kills and six digs as well as a block to give her a game-high 12.5 points.
• Freshman Amaya Cooper's production was undeniable in the tough loss as she tied her season-high in kills (9), earned a new season-high in digs (4) and tied her season-high with four blocks all while maintaining a hitting percentage of .261.
• Makenzy Johnson earned a personal best 20 assists while Emma Quarles assisted on 16 kills in the contest.
• Reigning CIAA Defensive Player of the Week Najlaa Williams earned a game-high 17 digs which also gave her a new personal best.
• Alexis Baker made her presence felt defensively with 13 digs.
• VSU earned the slight edge in digs 62-61.
• The Trojans attempted more kills than Shippensburg and was able to maintain a high hitting percentage of .158 despite the loss.

 
 
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Trojans won the race to five early on after gaining the lead 5-3 thanks to a kill and an ace from Alexis Baker. The Raiders then went on a 4-0 scoring run to give them the slight edge 6-5. The Trojans went on to score five of the next six points to give them the lead 10-7. The Raiders answered by scoring five points straight to give them the lead 11-13. The Raiders maintained the slight edge until the Trojans scored four of five points to give them the lead 16-17. The two teams were neck-and-neck until the Raiders went ahead after scoring four straight to make the score 19-22. The Trojans would try to find late momentum but ultimately fell 21-25 in the first set.

SET 2 | Much like set one, the Trojans jumped out to a 5-2 lead thanks a couple of aces from Jennah Kareem and Emma Quarles. As the Raiders attempted to fight back, the Trojans just grew stronger extending their lead to 11-5 thanks to a pair of powerful kills from Helena Eubanks. Shippensburg then came roaring back as they were able to cut the lead to just two, 14-12. The Trojans felt the pressure of letting the set slip away which allowed them to mount a six-point run thanks so a pair of kills from Amaya Cooper and an ace from Jennah Kareem to extend the lead to 21-13. The Trojans would keep their foot on to gas pedal to take set two 25-16.

SET 3 | The start of the third set saw the Trojans hot out of the gate taking a 5-1 lead thanks to a pair of kills from Helena Eubanks to make the score 5-1. The Raiders found momentum after an error from VSU. The VSU mistake sparked a seven-point swing to make it 5-8. After the Trojans were able to cut the SU lead to just one, the Raiders were able to go on a 5-0 run to push their lead out to 8-14. The Raiders continued to control the set midway through 15-20. As the Trojans attempted to make a final push for the lead, SU scored five of the last six points to take set three 18-25.

SET 4 | After the two teams were going back-and-forth, VSU went on a 5-1 scoring run to make the score 11-6. The Raiders then went on to hold their serve for four points to make the score 12-11. This would inspire the Trojans to go on their biggest scoring run of the season scoring 10 consecutive points thanks to mistakes from the Raiders and a pair of kills from Taniyah Epps to make the score 22-11. While the Raiders were able to go on a scoring run of four points when the Trojans got to set point, the Trojans were able to close out the set, 25-18.

SET 5 | The start of the deciding set saw the Raiders get out to a 5-0 run before the Trojans scored their first point. The Raiders were able to go up 3-12 before the Trojans woke up. VSU scored six straight points to cut the lead down to just three points at 10-13. Unfortunately, it proved to be too little too late for the Trojans as the Raiders took the final set 10-15



What's Next
Virginia State will have one last chance to earn a victory in the VSU Volleyball Classic as they prepare to take down the Chowan Hawks at 5:00 p.m.

 
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