INDIANA, Pa. – Freshman Brooke Little had a match-high 12 kills as she helped the Crimson Hawks get out to a hot start but Shippensburg proved too much in the end as IUP women's volleyball dropped a 3-2 decision to the visiting Raiders Friday night at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
It was the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opener for both teams as Shippensburg improved to 9-3 overall and the Crimson Hawks dropped to 1-9.
 
The Crimson Hawks came out on fire in their first home action, using a .310 hitting percentage to grab a 25-10 victory in the opening set. Little came off the bench to tally five kills in the opener while the IUP defense forced Shippensburg into a paltry -.097 hitting percentage.
 
The teams traded sets, with the Raiders taking the second 25-21 and the fourth 25-13. The Crimson Hawks won the third 25-18.
 
After hitting into 11 errors in the second set, the IUP offense bounced back with a .286 percentage and 13 kills in the third. Five different players scored offensively for IUP that set, including two kills by senior Jessica Ignace. Ignace finished the night with 10 kills and a team-best 13.5 points.
 
The deciding set started with some back-and-forth play until the Raiders used a 6-3 run to gain momentum and outlasted IUP by scoring five of the final seven points to get the win.
 
Other individual highlights included freshman Lizzie Virgin with nine kills and 10.5 points and junior Jasmine Raudys with seven kills and 11.5 points. Setters Leah Henderson and Dominica Niccolai split time, finishing with 20 and 19 assists, respectively.

Up next
The Crimson Hawks finish up their home-opening weekend Saturday when they host Shepherd at the Kovalchick Complex. First serve is 1 p.m.

Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's volleyball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPVB.