After falling to St. Xavier University in three sets to open their tri-match on Saturday afternoon, the Shawnee State Volleyball Team recovered to defeat the University of Northwestern Ohio in five sets to close out the day. Shawnee State goes to 5-9 on the season.
Shawnee State opened the tri-match losing to St. Xavier by scores of 25-18, 25-20, 26-24. St. Xavier, who is receiving votes in the latest NAIA Poll, controlled th first two matches trailing only once in the beginning of the second set. In the final set, at match point St. Xavier served up an error, keeping the Bears' alive. The Bears made a strong comeback which was led by sophomore Hannah Gephart and junior Alex Pohl. With Gephart serving trailing 24-18, the Cougars committed two killing errors, making the score 24-20. Gephart served up back-to-back aces pulling the Bears within two. Pohl tied the game at 24-24, with a solo block and a kill, however it was not enought as St. Xavier recovered with a kill by Kayla Maullaney and then finished the game with a kill by Kelly Knudsen.
Pohl had a stellar game at the net tallying 11 kills in 16 attempts with no errors. Freshman Paige Zelich added seven kills. Gephart set up 22 assists to go along with four kills, six digs and three service aces. Sophomore Kirsti Yates led the Bears defensively with 27 digs in the match. She also had 20 service receptions without committing an error.
Shawnee State closed the tri-match with a five-set win over the University of Northwestern Ohio to avenge the Bears' three set loss to the Racers earlier in the season. The Bears won the match by scores of 25-19, 21-25, 25-22, 24-26, 15-10.
Shawnee State held a 2-1 advantage over the Racers and had their opportunities to close the match in the fourth set, but errors down the stretch cost the Bears. Junior Holly Tobias tied the game at 21-21 with a kill and freshman Kelsey Bielanow gave the Bears the 22-21 lead, but a service error knotted the game at 22-22. Gephart killed the ball for the Bears for the one point advantage, but was caught in the net in the next possession to tie the game at 23-23. A kill by the Racers put them on set point, but Bielanow hammered down a kill to tie the game one again. Despite extending the set, the Racers would win and force a fifth set because of a pair of Bear errors.
In the final set, Shawnee State came out with intensity and quickly jumped out to a 4-1 lead. The Bears' never trailed in the final set and Gephart ended the match sending the ball over on the second hit, catching the Racers off guard and giving the Bears the victory.
The Bears offensively were balanced as four Bears' tallied double-digit kills. Pohl tallied 14 kills to go with five blocks. Bielanow and senior Shaye Berry had 13 and 12 kills respectively. Tobias added 10 kills and two blocks, while committing no errors at the net. Gephart had her best match of the season as she set up a season-high 44 assists to go along with 22 digs, four kills, three blocks and two service aces. Yates had a career-high 31 digs. Sophomore Carly Mazza had 15 digs, while junior Jessica Winkelman added 13 digs in the win.
Shawnee State hosts rival Rio Grande on Tuesday, September 20th in a MSC East Division battle. The game is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. in Waller Gymnasium.
