The Shippensburg University volleyball team battled longtime rival California (Pa.) on Tuesday night in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Quarterfinal, but the Raiders could not get past the Vulcans in a 3-1 loss from the Convocation Center by scores of 21-25, 21-25, 25-15, 21-25.
 
Shippensburg (26-7) was held to a .110 hitting percentage on Tuesday night after hitting .217 against the Vulcans in a 3-0 home sweep just 10 days ago. Freshman Samantha Webber was a standout performer on Tuesday, hitting .346 with 12 kills and four block assists. Fellow freshman Kendall Johnson returned to form with eight kills, five block assists and hit .190.
 
California (22-8) totaled 11.5 blocks on the night – the most in a match against the Raiders this season. The Vulcan blocks were also often timely – including a three-person block at 23-21 in the fourth set to help take control of the final frame. Cal hit .176 as a team and won the match with one of its four aces on the night.
 
SU did have the overall serve advantage, achieving eight aces, while Cal had nine service errors. Senior Maria Peluso served three of those aces and tied for the team lead with 21 digs. Peluso moved into fifth place on SU's all-time list for career digs, having now totaled 1,516 in just three full seasons on the court.
 
Senior Annie Goerl named the PSAC Central Division Player of the Week earlier in the day, finished with 11 kills and 21 digs for her third consecutive double-double and her 10th overall this season. Sophomore Morgan DeFloria had seven kills and 12 digs.
 
Senior Maura Nolan directed the offense with 36 assists and had 13 digs, along with two kills and two aces. Nolan is now just 11 assists shy of reaching 5,000 in her illustrious career.
 
Shippensburg, ranked No. 5 in the Atlantic Region, will now await the results of the NCAA Selection Show, which airs online at 7:30 p.m. Monday. The link to watch is here: http://www.ncaa.com/live/player?vid=2016/2728&date=2016/11/21.