Box Score
The Lady Cat volleyball team, ranked eighth in the Atlantic Region, clawed back from a 2-sets-to-none deficit to force a fifth set, but Shippensburg defeated Pitt-Johnstown 15-9 in that set to secure a 3-2 PSAC victory, Friday night in Shippensburg.  Pitt-Johnstown got 19 kills from Cambria Wierman, but had its seven-match winning streak snapped and slipped to 18-12 overall and 12-9 in the conference.
 
Shippensburg used a 7-2 run to break an early tie in the opening set and build a 14-9 lead on a kill from Courtney Malott and a Pitt-Johnstown attack error.  The Red Raiders extended it to 19-14, before two straight kills from Kendall Mahony and one from Wierman got the Lady Cats to with two at 20-18, but Shippensburg was able to hold on and take the set, 25-22.
 
Just like the first set, Shippensburg climbed out to a lead with a 7-2 run.  This time, Taylor Gottshall's kill gave the Red Raiders a 13-8 advantage.  The Lady Cats answered by scoring six of the next eight points to narrow the gap to 15-14 on Larissa Swank's kill and a Red Raider attack error.  However, Pitt-Johnstown could not get over the hump.  Shippensburg went on to outscore the Lady Cats 10-3 the rest of the way to win the set 25-17.
 
In the third set, Madeline George and Wierman combined for six kills and a service ace in a 9-1 Pitt-Johnstown run that helped the Lady Cats erase a two-point deficit and build a 20-14 lead.  Shippensburg battled back to within one at 21-10, before Swank's kill gave the Lady Cats a 24-21 advantage.  The Red Raiders fought out three set points to knot it at 24, but another kill from Swank and a Shippensburg attack error kept Pitt-Johnstown alive with a 26-24 victory.
 
The Lady Cats took advantage of three straight Shippensburg errors to run out to a 6-2 lead in the fourth set, before Annie Goerl's kill closed out a 8-1 Red Raiders' run to put Shippensburg in front 10-7.  Pitt-Johnstown recovered and outscored the Red Raiders 9-2, capped by Mahony's kill, to retake the lead, 16-12.  Shippensburg answered to tie it at 20, but the Lady Cats scored the final five points to win 25-20 and force a deciding fifth set.
 
Shippensburg got four kills from Gottshall to help the Red Raiders race out to a 9-3 lead in the fifth set.  The Lady Cats were never able to get back in it and suffered a 15-9 loss.
 
Mahony had 11 kills and Delaney Roman gathered ten kills, 16 digs and a service ace, while Swank added six kills.  Nikki Oakes collected 26 assists and Nicole Curran had 20 assists and ten digs.  Devan Orr gathered a match-high 45 digs, two assists and two service aces, while Wierman got 18 digs, three assists, and a service ace.
 
Shippensburg, which was led by 19 kills from Goerl and 14 kills from Gottshall, improved to 17-15 overall and 9-12 in the PSAC. 
 
The Lady Cats close out the 2014 regular season with a road conference match at Millersville on Saturday, before beginning the PSAC Tournament with an opening round match in the Sports Center on Tuesday.