SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – After trading close wins in the first four sets, the IUP women's volleyball team exploded for a 15-6 fifth set victory to defeat host Shippensburg 3-2 Saturday afternoon at Heiges Field House.
 
Shippensburg won the first and third sets by identical scores of 27-25 while IUP won the second 25-22 and the fourth 25-20.  
 
The win broke a three-match losing streak for the Crimson Hawks as they even their overall record at 8-8 on the season.
 
Four players reached double-figures in scoring for IUP, including Gia Cannavino who had a season-high 13 kills and 15 points. Caroline Walsh finished with six kills and a career-high 10 total blocks, including five solo. Nicole Peterson had 13.5 points on the strength of 10 kills and Kylie Osborn had 10.5 points tallying five kills, four service aces, and three block assists.
 
Leah Henderson and Maggie Samijlenko split setting duties, finishing with 17 and 15 assists, respectively.
 
Defensively, libero Bailey Flowerdew had a team-best 27 digs.
 
The Crimson Hawks hit just .130 for the match but forced Shippensburg (5-9) into a sub-.100 hitting percentage by racking up 14 blocks.
 
In the deciding set, the Raiders scored the first two points but IUP rallied to take a 6-4 lead before scoring nine of the final 11 points to get the win.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks are back at home for another non-conference match against Salem on Tuesday, before returning to divisional play over the weekend with road matches at Edinboro (Friday) and Mercyhurst (Saturday).
 
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For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's volleyball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPVB.