The volleyball program at Shawnee State took on perennial Mid-South Conference power Lindsey Wilson Monday afternoon at home and put together a strong effort, but fell to the Blue Raiders by a 3-0 count (25-17, 25-18, 25-22) in the conference opener for both teams at Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth.
Down 6-2 early in the first set, Shawnee State showed muscle by coming back to tie the score twice, at nine-all and 10-aside, as two kills by Bethany Colling, a kill each from Nashail Shelby and Macie Rhoads and a service ace from Darian Fiesler allowed SSU to rally back. A 6-0 Lindsey Wilson spurt following the 10-all tie, however, proved to be SSU's undoing in the opening frame.
After trailing throughout the second set of play, Shawnee State, fighting to extend the match, opened the third set with vigor by forcing two Lindsey Wilson attack errors while a service error allowed SSU to take a 3-0 advantage.
Lindsey Wilson ultimately came back to take a 10-7 lead, but for the remainder of the set, the Bears played the Blue Raiders tightly as a kill each from Colling, Rhoads, Shelby and Haidyn Wamsley brought Shawnee State to within 16-15 in the middle of the set.
While LWC pushed its lead back out to a 20-15 advantage, Shawnee State's defense forced three more Lindsey Wilson attack errors while a bad setting attempt allowed the Bears to close within 21-19. However, Lindsey Wilson's .271 hitting percentage, compared to Shawnee State's .059, proved to be too much for SSU to overcome in the straight set defeat.
Overall, Rhoads led the way with 12 kills and 11 digs while hitting .219, with Emilee Cochran posting a team-high 17 digs defensively. Maria Kolinoff and Maddie Payne combined for 27 assists with Shelby posting six kills on a .533 attack percentage to head up the Bears' output.
Shawnee State (8-2, 0-1 MSC) takes on Ohio Valley, who will be playing in its season opener, Friday evening at 7 p.m. in Waller Gymnasium.
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