PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- In a River States Conference match against the Rio Grande RedStorm volleyball program, the Shawnee State volleyball program dropped a home bout to Rio Grande, 3-0 (16-25, 23-25, 18-25) Saturday afternoon in Waller Gymnasium.

The Bears' best showing of the match came in the second set, where Shawnee State held Rio Grande to a .114 attack percentage in the set. In that same frame, the Bears overcame a 5-2 deficit to take leads of 7-6, 9-8, 10-9, 11-10 and 12-11.

Later in the set, Shawnee State battled back and overcame a 19-16 set deficit by going on a 6-1 Bears push to take a 22-20 advantage -- and held that two point cushion up until Rio Grande's final timeout when the Bears went ahead, 23-21. During that stretch, Kylee Gifford and Whytney Faulkner combined for two kills apiece to place SSU on the verge of tying the match up at a set apiece.

However, following the timeout, Rio Grande went on a 4-0 run to take the second set by a 25-23 margin, and the RedStorm took control from that point onward.

For the match, Megan Steele led the way by recording 19 digs to go along with 10 kills. The performance marked Steele's second consecutive double-double and the junior's fifth of the 2024 season.

Faulkner added in nine kills on a .368 attack percentage while Gifford posted eight spikes on a .333 attack percentage to round out Shawnee State's main contributors.

Shawnee State (6-7, 0-2 River States Conference) will be back in action Tuesday evening when the Bears face Wilberforce (0-14) in a nonconference matchup at Waller Gymnasium. Match time begins at 6 p.m.