Bowling Green, Ky. – Shawnee State volleyball opened the 2018 season with a split on Friday, defeating Brescia (Ky.) 3-2 (20-25, 25-16, 13-25, 26-24, 17-15) in their first game before falling to Indiana Southeast 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-22) in game two at the Mid-South Conference Crossover Challenge.
Game One
Brescia would take an early 1-0 lead with a 25-20 win in the first set, rallying to win the set. Shawnee State would take an early 8-3 lead, capitalizing on three Brescia errors to take the lead. That lead would grow to six points at 11-5 after another Brescia error by Melissa Bell. However, the Bearcats would then go on an 8-1 run, with three kills from Natalie Jones helping Brescia take a 13-12 lead. The two teams would remain close until the latter part of the set, with Brescia pulling away to win the last four points of the set.
Set two would also open close, but Shawnee State would eventually find their footing halfway through the set. Leading 11-9, the Bears would rattle off six straight points, with Emily Cooper (FR/Hamersville, Ohio) picking up three aces in the run. SSU would hold away Brescia from there, with Tyanna Smith (SR/Bowling Green, Ohio)'s closing kill giving the Bears a 25-16 win to even the match at one.
Set three would also begin close, with the teams tied 6-6 early. However, Brescia would take control of the third set from there, pushing out to an 11-7 lead behind Kassidie Hayes' two kills. Brescia would never relent control of the set from there, building on their lead until scoring the final seven points of the set, capped by a Kristin Logsdon ace for a 25-13 win.
Set four would again begin as the other sets, with the score close early. Brescia would again take control midway through the set, pushing out eventually to a 24-19 lead. However, Shawnee State would use a Brittney Just service error to spark a late run. Nashail Shelby (FR/Mansfield, Ohio) and Tyanna Smith would block Natalie Jones, and Tyanna Smith would get a kill for the next point to force a Brescia timeout at 24-22. A kill by Alexis Palazzo (FR/Marietta, Ohio) and an attack error by Jones would see SSU tie the game at 24, forcing the Bearcats to use their second timeout. Shawnee State would then seal the set, with Shelby and Smith again blocking Jones and Smith finishing the set off with a kill to win 26-24 in extra points.
The Bears would not let the rally go to waste, winning the fifth and decisive set. Brescia would win the first two points of the set, but Shawnee State would immediately respond with three points. With the score tied 4-4, the Bears would go on a 4-0 run, with Carson Roney (JR/Waverly, Ohio), Tyanna Smith and Morgan Rearick (FR/Canal Fulton, Ohio) all getting kills to make the score 8-4 SSU at the switch. Shawnee State would continue to hold Brescia at bay, pushing the lead eventually to six points at 13-7 on a Macie Rhoads (FR/Circleville, Ohio) kill. Brescia would then rally, eventually tying the score at 14-14 on a Tonya Tivitt ace. However, SSU would clamp down and win the set, with Nashail Shelby getting a late kill and Natalie Jones hitting an attack error to give Shawnee State a 17-15 win in the fifth set and 3-2 win in the match.
Carson Roney led SSU with 17 kills in the match. Tyanna Smith added 13 kills and Nashail Shelby had 10. Elaina Davenport (JR/Newark, Ohio) led with 30 assists, and Madison Knipp (SR/Beaver, Ohio) had 17 digs to lead the Bears defense.
Natalie Jones had 19 kills to lead the attack for Brescia. Alex Satterfield had 29 assists, and Kristin Logsdon had 23 digs to lead the Bearcats defense.
Game Two
Shawnee State would take an early lead in the first set, racing out to a 3-0 lead, but Indiana Southeast would chip away at the SSU lead and eventually take control. Monica Loftus would get a kill to make the score 9-9 later in the set, and from there the Grenadiers would not trail again. That kill would begin an 8-1 run to put IUSE up 16-10, and from there the Grenadiers would hold away Shawnee State to take the first set 25-19.
IU Southeast would again take control in the second set, pushing out their lead to 7-4 early and never trailing from there. Shawnee State would cut the lead to 11-9 on an attack error by Monica Loftus, but that would be as close as SSU would get. The Grenadiers would push out their lead, and would win the last five points of the set, including two aces from Lexie Fisher to win 25-16.
Two Loftus kills and an ace would give IU Southeast a 3-0 lead early in set three, but Shawnee State would rally to keep the match close. Eventually the Bears would take the lead, going on a 5-0 run to grab a 13-11 lead, including two kills from Isabella Gill (FR/Wooster, Ohio). SSU would maintain their lead for a few points, but Indiana Southeast would rally themselves, eventually retaking the lead at 19-18 and never trailing again, winning the fifth set 25-22.
Tyanna Smith had nine kills to lead the way for Shawnee State's attack. Elaina Davenport had 20 assists, and Madison Knipp had 15 digs.
Monica Loftus had 12 kills for Indiana Southeast in the match, adding 13 digs to lead IUSE's defense. Hannah Sipe had 21 assists to lead the Grenadiers' setters.
The split moves Shawnee State to 1-1 to start the season. Brescia are now 1-1 after defeating Cumberland (Tenn.) in their second match of the day. Indiana Southeast are 2-0 after defeating Life in their first match of the day.
Shawnee State volleyball returns to action on Saturday, August 25 for day two of the Mid-South Conference Crossover Challenge. The Bears will take on Union (Ky.) at 7:00pm and Martin Methodist (Tenn.) at 9:00pm at Ephram White Gymnasium in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
