BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg volleyball team dropped a back-and-forth Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) contest to Shippensburg in five sets on Saturday afternoon inside the Nelson Field House.
 
Bloomsburg (7-8, 0-3 PSAC East) posted 56 kills across the five sets while posting attack percentages above .350 in the second and third set. Three Huskies finished with double digit kills. Emily Gustie (Crofton, Md./Crofton) led the team with 16 while Marlee Johnson (Newville, Pa./Big Spring) and Katie Kuehl (Aston, Pa./Archmere Academy (Del.)) each logged 12. Setters Erin Clark (Gilbert, Ariz./Gilbert) and Jessica Rimbo (Lemont, Ill./Lemont) combined for 50 assists on the day, posting 29 and 21 respectively.
 
The Huskies recorded the first point of the contest as a kill from Gustie ended a lengthy rally to start the match. Clark followed that rally up with an ace before Shippensburg (10-6, 3-0) notched two kills to level the score. After a point from Bloomsburg, the Raiders went on a five-point run to take hold of the momentum. The maroon and gold slowly closed the gap throughout the set before SU went on a 6-1 run late in the set to close out the opening frame, 25-19.
 
Shippensburg started the second set with a quick 3-1 lead before Lydia Worthing (Tyrone, Pa./Bellwood Antis), Sophie Wales (Port Matilda, Pa./State College) and Gustie each tallied a kill in a 4-1 run to regain the lead at 5-4. The Raiders responded with a four-point run which saw the Huskies yet again try to slowly chip away at the lead. Unlike the first set, The Huskies were able to come up with the 18-16 lead thanks to a 5-1 run. Two points for SU tied the set before four-straight from the maroon and gold gave the home team the late lead. A comeback bid from Shippensburg fell short as Kuehl notched a kill to end the set 25-22.
 
Bloomsburg came out energized in the third frame, jumping out to a 9-1 lead. The run saw six kills and an ace from the Huskies, with Kuehl and Worthing each recording two. The Raiders notched three-straight of its own but the maroon and gold responded immediately with a 4-0 run to make it 13-4. SU closed the gap throughout the set, but it proved too little too late as the Huskies closed out the set, 25-17. Bloomsburg posted its best attack percentage of the game in the third set, posting a .394 with 14 kills and just one attack error.
 
The Raiders took the lead early in the fourth set as they surged out to a 9-4 lead. Back-and-forth point exchanges moved the score to 11-8 before a series of runs for Shippensburg guided the visitors to a 25-13 victory in the fourth set to force a final set.
 
Bloomsburg took a 2-1 lead to start the set as Gustie notched a pair of kills early on. SU then grabbed hold of the momentum again as three kills and an ace highlighted a 6-1 run to give the visitors the advantage. The two sides went point-for-point to move the score to 11-7. Kills from Worthing and Kuehl pulled Bloomsburg within two. The Huskies were unable to complete the comeback in the fifth, as the Raiders closed out the match, 15-11.
 
Bloomsburg is back in action on Friday, October 10 as they travel to West Chester for a 6 p.m. match.