PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (Volleyball) – Less than 24 hours shy of a tough 3-2 loss versus Northwestern Ohio, the Shawnee State volleyball team responded in a big way, defeating the University of Rio Grande in straight sets (26-24, 25-22, 25-23) on day two of Alumni Weekend at Waller Gymnasium.
Lauren Helbig (SO/Mansfield, Ohio) and Tiffany Jackson (SR/Williamstown, N.J.) were each stellar on the attack, recording 11 kill apiece with .556 and .421 attack percentages, respectively. Devan Scarberry (SR/Franklin Furnace, Ohio) tacked on double-figure assists with 22 and Madison Smith (JR/Orrville, Ohio) added 11 digs.
The Bears and RedStorm played all three games neck-and-neck with the opening game needing an extra serve. Trailing 24-22, SSU responded with four straight points including three straight kills from Jackson to change the tides, giving the Bears the 26-24 win.
SSU jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the second set before three straight points knotted the game at six. The two squads never extended a lead to more than five in the frame, though the Bears never lost a lead after going ahead 9-8.
In the third, the Bears put together what was likely the most complete set of the night, hitting .344 during the frame. SSU stormed ahead 5-1, though Rio again fought right back to tie the contest at eight.
Shawnee used another run to jump ahead 15-11, closing the run with a kill from Helbig. The Bears extended the score to 19-13, but for one final time, URG made a run. The RedStorm scored eight of the next nine points to take a 21-20 edge and force an SSU timeout.
The short break settled the Bears, who closed the game on a 5-1 run to win the set 25-23 and the match 3-0.
The other matches were played at Waller Gymnasium on Friday night as SSU plays host to Kentucky Christian, Montreat College, Northwestern Ohio and Rio Grande this weekend.
On Saturday, the Bears will conclude Alumni Weekend with a tri-match with KCU and Montreat. SSU and Kentucky Christian open the day with a 10 a.m. match The Bears close the weekend at 1 p.m. against Montreat.
