SHIPPENSBURG, Pa.-The West Chester University women's volleyball team (5-7, 0-1) opened PSAC East play on the road on Friday night at PSAC East rival and preseason favorite, Shippensburg (8-4, 1-0). West Chester gave Shippensburg all the Raiders could handle in their long-awaited home opener, including a 25-14 victory in the first set, but fell 3-1 (14-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-8).

Anna Richardson (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna) led West Chester in kills with 13, while Gwen Atkins (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) added 12 of her own. Haley Atkins (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) led West Chester in aces with five and was one of three Golden Rams with 14 or more digs as Elianna Freeman (Jersey Village, Tx./Jersey Village) came away with 20 digs, while Richardson had 16 and Atkins had 14. Ada Koksal (Istanbul, Turkey/Terakki) led West Chester in assists with 31.

West Chester raced out to a 9-3 lead in the first set, thanks in part to four kills by Richardson, as the Golden Rams got out to a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-14 first-set victory.

In the second set, West Chester held a 16-13 lead after a Gwen Atkins (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) kill, but Shippensburg responded with a 7-1 run to take a 20-17 lead and eventually win the second set 25-23.

After holding a lead in the late stages of the third set, Shippensburg went on an 8-0 run to turn a 17-16 Golden Ram lead into a 24-17 Raider lead, which eventually led to a 25-19 third-set victory for Shippensburg.

Shippensburg jumped out to an early lead in the fourth set and never wavered as the Raiders raced to a 25-8 fourth-set win to take the match 3-1.
After hitting an outstanding .313 (15-5-32)in the first set, West Chester failed to hit above .160 in any of the final three sets and finished the match hitting .076 (42-31-144).

Natalya Montague led Shippensburg in kills and blocks with 11 kills and seven blocks, while Jaiden Anderson posted five aces and 18 assists.

Up Next

West Chester returns to action tomorrow in Hollinger Field House for a home match with Millersville beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon's return to Hollinger is the Golden Rams' first home match since a five-set battle on August 29^th against West Virginia State.