PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (Volleyball) – Tiffany Jackson (SR/Williamstown, N.J.) recorded a team-high seven kills and Paige Zelich (SR/Grove City, Ohio) added five, but the Shawnee State volleyball team hit just .078 as a squad en route to a 3-0 (25-23, 25-11, 25-17) defeat at the hands of the No. 22-ranked Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders at Frank & Janis Waller Gymnasium.
Lindsey Wilson (12-2, 1-0 Mid-South) started the opening set at a lightning pace as a pair of service aces from Yennifer Ramirez and kills from Nadelina Nesheva and Sarah Shilling elevated the visitor to a 7-2 advantage.
Down but not out, the Bears fought back. Trailing 10-3, Shawnee recorded five straight points, taking advantage of four attack errors to cut the deficit to two. The set would remain within four points for the entirety.
SSU was able to bring the Blue Raiders within striking distance after Kristi Humble (SR/West Jefferson, Ohio) earned her first kill of the match, pushing the score to 22-21. But it was too little, too late, as the two squads traded points leading to a 25-23 LWC win.
The tight first set seemed to take a little wind out of the Bears' sails, as the squad never found a way to make a run in set number two. Lindsey Wilson used runs of 4-0, 7-0 and 8-0 to take command early and hold on throughout en route to a dominating 25-11 win.
Shawnee State brought the fight to Lindsey Wilson early in the third set, grabbing a 7-6 advantage after Jackson pounded down another kill. But again, the Blue Raiders responded, rattling off five straight points to take an 11-7 lead and force an SSU timeout.
SSU scored three of the next four points, but Lindsey added another 5-0 run to put the contest officially out of reach at 17-10. When the dust settled on the final set, the Blue Raiders closed with a kill from Ramirez, her 14th of the night.
Madison Smith (JR/Orrville, Ohio) continued her streak of 11 straight games as the team-leader in digs, notching a match-high 16. Bonnie Huesing (SO/Mason, Ohio) added a team-high 12 assists.
The story for the Bears however, was attack percentage. SSU hit .306 in the opening set, but followed with a -.167 in set two and .056 in the final set. Meanwhile LWC hit .423 in set number two.
SSU returns to action more over the weekend, playing at Campbellsville University at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The Bears remain on the road on Sept. 16 for a match versus St. Catharine College.
