PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- The best wins, more often than not, don't come easy.

However, that's what makes them so great -- because when the wins are hard-earned, the qualities that come with them are arguably more rewarding.

Facing a solid in-state foe in Northwestern Ohio, the Shawnee State volleyball program rose to the challenge and the trials and tribulations that came with said challenge Saturday, overcoming a first-set defeat to UNOH and a fourth-set setback to claim the second and third sets in rather convincing fashion and collect the match in a hard-fought fifth set that went down to the wire in a 3-2 triumph for the Bears (18-25, 25-20, 25-14, 15-25, 16-14) at Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth Saturday evening.

With Saturday's win, Shawnee State (9-4) continues its best start since the 2021 season, when the Bears went 11-4 through their first 15 matches of that year. If SSU sweeps its two matches in its upcoming road tri-match against Kentucky Christian and Pikeville next Saturday at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, Ky., the Bears will match that start.
 
Despite struggling to establish its offensive attack in its opening set defeat to Northwestern Ohio, Shawnee State rebounded nicely in the second set, garnering each of the first five volleys of the second set on a set-opening kill by Katelynn Boerger, a service ace by Ava Jenkins and a kill from Bree Hicks and maintaining between a four-to-five point advantage over the opening 24 volleys of the second frame as two more kills from Hicks and one spike each from Camille McIntosh and Nuria Calvo put Shawnee State ahead by a 14-10 count.

While Northwestern Ohio rallied to take a 17-16 advantage in the second set, Shawnee State responded with a set-ending 9-3 run with Boerger posting a pair of kills and Whytney Faulkner adding in a kill as well as an assisted block to boot as the Bears took a 25-20 second-set win to even the match at one apiece.

The third set saw the Shawnee State frontline showcase more dominance, as the Bears, after taking a 9-7 advantage, opened the gap up as three kills by Faulkner and two kills to go along with two solo blocks from McIntosh set the tone in a 16-7 run to end the third frame.

Down 9-3 to begin the fourth set, Shawnee State closed to within 16-11 in the fourth set before its offensive attack faltered late -- allowing Northwestern Ohio to send the match to a fifth and final set.

However, Shawnee State never gave into the pressure. Down by margins of 9-6 and 11-8 late in the going in the fifth set, Shawnee State completely changed the direction of the deciding set and the match along with it, as two kills each from Hicks, McIntosh and Reagan Lewis allowed the Bears to rally, taking leads of 13-12 and 14-13 before staving off two final UNOH gasps -- and tie scores late in the fifth frame -- en route to closing out the thrilling match by a 16-14 margin in the fifth set.

For the match, McIntosh enjoyed a strong performance by nabbing 11 kills on a .250 attack percentage to go along with two solo blocks, while Hicks added in nine kills, seven digs and a .241 attack percentage to boot. Lewis, who has done a bit of everything for the Bears despite primarily serving as a setter, posted 26 assists, eight kills and eight digs to also aid the front and back rows in multiple facets.

Along with the aforementioned trio, freshman setter Cally Carpenter ended up playing a large role not only from a passing standpoint but from a defensive perspective as well, collecting her first double-double with a 14-dig, 13-assist performance, while back row talents Megan Steele, Ava Jenkins and Brooke Bossert tallied 18, 17 and 14 digs, respectively, to lead a team effort through and through.
The volleyball program at Shawnee State will be back in action Saturday, Sept. 13 at the aforementioned Kentucky Christian University tri-match, where the Bears will face Kentucky Christian at 1 p.m. in a River States Conference contest and then Pikeville at 3 p.m. in a nonconference affair right after.

For more information on the Shawnee State volleyball program, visit https://ssubears.com/sports/womens-volleyball, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057197839907 or https://www.instagram.com/ssuvb/.