Portsmouth, Ohio – Shawnee State volleyball were swept in a doubleheader on Friday night, falling to Urbana (Ohio) twice. The Bears fell in match one 3-0 (23-25, 14-25, 13-25) and in match two 3-1 (11-25, 23-25, 25-23, 18-25).
Match One
Urbana would get up big early in the first set, going up 10-3 on SSU. However, Shawnee State would begin to chip away at the lead, rallying late to take the lead. A Courney Niesen attack error would tie the game at 19-19, and a kill by Macie Rhoads (FR/Circleville, Ohio) would give Shawnee State a 20-19 lead. However, Urbana would rally out of a timeout to re-take the lead and win the set, with a Madison Davis kill finishing off the set at 25-23 in favor of Urbana.
The Blue Knights would take an early lead again in set two, and would not relinquish it. Urbana would hold away Shawnee State for the whole set, and win the final six points of the set to take the second set 25-14. The third set would play out similarly, with Urbana going up big early and pushing the lead. Hannah Hodulik's kill would end the third set at 25-13 and give Urbana a 3-0 win in the match.
Macie Rhoads had 10 kills to lead SSU in the first match, with Carson Roney (JR/Waverly, Ohio) adding nine. Emily Cooper (FR/Hamersville, Ohio) had 16 assists and Madison Knipp (SR/Beaver, Ohio) had 13 digs.
Hannah Delor had a match-high 13 kills for Urbana. Anna Davis had 20 assists and Courtney Niesen had 21 digs.
Match Two
The first set of match two was much the same as the end of the first match. Urbana would build out a big lead and never relinquish it, taking the first five points of the match. Urbana would push that lead out to 14 points by the end of the set, with Nashail Shelby (FR/Mansfield, Ohio)'s attack error giving the Blue Knights a 25-11 win.
Shawnee State would hang with Urbana in the second set, but never lead as the Blue Knights would do just enough to hold Shawnee State away. The Bears would rally late to get within one point, with Macie Rhoads' late kill cutting the lead to 24-23, but a service error by Morgan Rearick (FR/Canal Fulton, Ohio) would give Urbana a 25-23 win in the second set.
The Bears would win their only set of the night in the fourth set despite trailing for most of it. Down 22-20, a Madison Davis attack error would spark a rally for Shawnee State. The Bears would tie the game on a Hannah Delor error, but Lexi Reinert would again give Urbana the lead at 23-22. However, SSU would rally again, with Davis and Delor splitting three attack errors to give Shawnee State a 25-23 win in the third set.
Urbana would finish off the match in the fourth set to defeat SSU. The Blue Knights would take an early lead in the set they would never relinquish. A Davis ace would push the lead to 18-12 through the middle of the set, and from there Urbana would cruise to a victory. Davis' kill at the end of the set sealed a 25-18 win for Urbana, who would return home with a 3-1 win.
Macie Rhoads and Carson Roney each had 12 kills to lead SSU, with Tyanna Smith (SR/Bowling Green, Ohio) adding 10. Elaina Davenport (JR/Newark, Ohio) had 18 assists and Madison Knipp had 13 digs.
Hannah Delor and Kaitlin Trace each had 12 kills for Urbana, with Madison Davis adding 10.
The losses drop Shawnee State to 5-6 on the season. Urbana improve to 6-4. The Blue Knights now lead the all-time series 24-16.
Shawnee State volleyball returns to action on Saturday, September 8 when they host Cincinnati Christian and Ohio-Chillicothe for the SSU Tri-Match. First serve between SSU and Cincinnati Christian is set for 1:00pm, with the Bears' match against OU-C set for 5:00pm.
