The volleyball program at Shawnee State University received a double-double outing from Megan Steele, got another good effort from Haidyn Wamsley on the frontline, and had five different players finish with at least 10 or more digs, but couldn't pull out a River States Conference Quarterfinal victory over the Oakland City Mighty Oaks' volleyball program as Shawnee State fell by a 3-1 tally to Oakland City Tuesday evening in Oakland City, Ind.
Shawnee State matched Oakland City defensively as the Bears and Mighty Oaks each posted 80 digs apiece while SSU collected 10 blocks to OCU's nine. However, the Bears struggled offensively -- hitting .108 on the attack compared to the Mighty Oaks' .209 attack percentage.
Nerves of Steele
With the Bears trailing by a 2-0 margin in sets after falling by 22-25 and 16-25 margins in the first and second sets of action, Shawnee State sophomore Megan Steele attempted to rally the troops.
The 5-7 sophomore, who had two kills through the first two sets of competition, took advantage of her opportunities in the third set of play, posting three consecutive Shawnee State spikes at one point to help the Bears take a 7-4 advantage in the third set, then helping SSU go on a 6-0 run as the Bears' server during the midway point of the set to give the Bears a 13-5 advantage. Oakland City closed to within three, 18-15, at one point, but Steele helped Shawnee State keep the lead with a pair of kills over the final 10 volleys of the set to give Devan Spriggs' group a 25-18 win in the third frame.
Steele then continued her scorching-hot stretch into the fourth set of action, posting four kills in the opening 16 volleys of action to force ties of 5-5, 7-7 and 8-8 all while even giving SSU a 6-5 advantage in the fourth frame at one point. When Oakland City went on a 4-0 push to grab a 12-8 advantage, Steele then picked up the Bears once again, drawing Shawnee State to within 15-14 after obtaining three more spikes during a 6-3 SSU push.
That, unfortunately, was as close as the Bears would get, but it didn't keep Steele from posting another productive outing as the Chillicothe native posted her sixth double-double of the season with team-highs of 14 kills on a .222 attack percentage to go along with 12 digs.
Wamsley produces again
With Steele needing help to finish off the third set, junior standout Haidyn Wamsley produced late in the third set with a flurry. The 5-11 outside hitter from McDermott, with the Bears leading 20-16 in the third set, nabbed three kills and teamed with fellow Northwest High School graduate Reagan Lewis for an assisted block to allow the Bears to close out the set on a 5-2 run.
Wamsley ultimately finished with 12 kills to go along with four assisted blocks on the evening, pushing her season total to 239 kills on a .289 attack percentage while finishing with an even 100 blocks for the 2023 season. She and fellow junior Kylee Barney offer a great deal of promise, along with others, to a frontline that helped Spriggs and Co. win 16 contests in 2023.
Lewis, Makaela Lovely notch double-doubles
Full of promising ability themselves, Lewis, along with fellow sophomore Makaela Lovely, posted double-double outings themselves for the Bears.
Lewis, who obtained 30 assists to go along with 10 digs, finished the 2023 season with 615 assists in all to go along with six double-doubles. With 989 assists for her career through two seasons of play, Lewis sits just 11 assists away from becoming the 11th player in Shawnee State volleyball history to accumulate 1,000 career assists.
Makaela Lovely notched her second double-double over the last six matches, and finished the season with an impressive 206 assists in 18 matches played over the course of the year.
Additional
Makenna Lovely finished with a team-high 19 digs while Gretchen Chaney nabbed 15 to round out the main performers for Shawnee State.
The Bears, who hold a 16-12 overall record, have just one senior (Bethany Colling) on the 12-player roster. Nine of the 12 volleyball talents on the roster are of sophomore eligibility or younger.
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