Portsmouth, Ohio – Shawnee State volleyball picked up a pair of wins on Friday night, defeating Rio Grande (Ohio) 3-0 and Bluefield (Va.) 3-2 at the Emileigh Cooper Memorial Tournament in Jackson, Ohio.
Game One
Shawnee State would sweep aside Rio Grande in straight sets in game one. The first set would be the most competitive, as Rio Grande would take an early 3-1 lead, which they would extend to 5-2 on a kill by Amaya Jones and attack error from Isabella Gill (FR/Wooster, Ohio). However, Shawnee State would rally to tie the match, then take the lead. Nashail Shelby (FR/Mansfield, Ohio)'s kill would put SSU up 10-7. The Bears would fend of Rio Grande until the middle of the set, when a kill by Kinnison Donaldson would tie the set at 14-14. The set would remain close from there, with the two teams trading points until late, when Donaldson would get a kill to put Rio up 23-22. However, SSU would score the final three points of the set, with Macie Rhoads (FR/Circleville, Ohio)' service ace ending the set with a 25-23 SSU victory.
Shawnee State would take control of the match in the second set. The Bears would score six straight points after trailing 8-7 to take a 13-8 lead, a lead they would not relinquish. Rhoads would again seal the set, getting the final kill to give SSU a 25-18 win and 2-0 match lead.
SSU would score the first five points of the third set to take a commanding early lead they would not relinquish, with the run capped by an ace from Madison Knipp (SR/Beaver, Ohio). The lead would hit 10 points when Rhoads and Carson Roney (JR/Waverly, Ohio) would block Baylee Pursifull to give SSU a 17-7 lead. Shawnee State would maintain their advantage, and a set error from Macy Roell would give Shawnee State the 3-0 win over Rio Grande.
Tyanna Smith (SR/Bowling Green, Ohio) had 11 kills to lead SSU. Elaina Davenport (JR/Newark, Ohio) led the Bears with 16 assists, and Madison Knipp would get eight digs to lead SSU.
Amaya Jones had 10 kills to lead Rio Grande's offense.
Game Two
An early seven point run by Bluefield, capped by a Hannah McElroy kill, would give the Rams a 10-4 lead they would not relinquish. Taylor Southerland's kill later in the set would put Bluefield up double digits. Macie Rhoads would allow a service error, giving Bluefield a 25-13 set one win.
SSU would have similarly easy times in sets two and three to take the lead. The Bears would score seven straight points early in the second set to take a 9-2 lead, and eventually push the lead out to 16 points. Four straight Bluefield attack errors would end the second 25-9 for SSU. The third set would remain closer early, but eventually Shawnee State would pull away. Four straight early points would put SSU up 12-5 in the set, with the lead eventually growing to 12. Tyanna Smith would get a service ace to end the set with a 25-13 win for SSU.
Bluefield would even the match in the fourth set, leading from start to finish. The Rams had their longest run in the set late, a three-point run to go up 21-16. Nashail Shelby's ball handling error would end the set with a 25-21 win for Bluefield. The Rams would then take a 4-0 lead in the fifth set, but SSU would immediately rally, taking a 5-4 lead on an attacking error by McElroy. Bluefield would rally to take a 7-5 lead, but Shawnee State would hang around and eventually re-take the lead. Down 12-11, Shawnee State would get a kill from Elaina Davenport to tie the game, and a Carson Roney kill to take the lead at 13-12. Southerland would tie the game back up, but SSU would get another Roney kill and an attack error by Katie Kendrick to secure a 15-13 fifth set win and a 3-2 win in the match.
Carson Roney had 18 kills to lead all attackers. Elaina Davenport had 37 assists, and Madison Knipp led the defense with 13 digs.
Hannah McElroy had 11 kills to lead three Bluefield players in double figures. Taylour Southerland and Kaleigh Barker each had 10 for the Rams.
The wins moves Shawnee State to 5-1 on the season. They have now won their last four against Rio Grande, and improved to 23-34 against the Red Storm all-time. SSU is now 7-0 against Bluefield in program history.
Shawnee State volleyball returns to Jackson for day two of the Emileigh Cooper Memorial Tournament, when they take on Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) at 10:00am and Point Park (Pa.) at 2:00pm.
