Slippery Rock University Athletics

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University volleyball team lost a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division match to Edinboro in four sets (25-21, 25-21, 15-25, 25-18) Friday at Morrow Field House.
 
The divisional setback moves The Rock's record to 5-10 overall and 0-4 in league matches, while the visiting Fighting Scots improve to 9-7 overall and 2-2 in PSAC West play with the win.
 
Slippery Rock used 16 athletes in Friday's match. Kaitlyn Danszczak and Gwen McCarthy led the offensive attack with 11 kills apiece. McCarthy also served a career-best three aces and Danszczak added two blocks and six digs.
 
Victoria Nalbach came off the bench to tally five kills on a .500 attack percentage and a Rock-best three blocks over two sets. Chloe Shirk and Hayden Deming rounded out SRU's kill leaders with four each.
 
Paityn Krause did a bit of everything for SRU. In addition to matching a season-high in assists with 26, the junior also made seven digs, came up with two blocks all the while producing a kill.
 
The Rock closed the night with seven aces, their third highest team total of the year and most since the opening day of the regular season. Nalbach, Ellie Friedrichs, Emily Loeffler and Kara Pasquale supplemented McCarthy's three-ace performance with one apiece. Friedrichs also made a team-high 16 digs.
 
On a night when neither team could consistently find its offensive rhythm, Edinboro claimed the opening two sets in matching 25-21, 25-21 fashion.
 
Edinboro appeared poised to leave Slippery Rock with the sweep after securing the first six points of the third set only for The Rock to counter with seven straight points of their own: three of which came by way of consecutive aces from McCarthy.
 
While the Fighting Scots briefly disrupted SRU's barrage via a D'Aira Whitner kill, Edinboro could do little to stop Slippery Rock in the third as The Rock rattled off eight consecutive points after Whitner's strike to take a commanding 15-7 advantage they never relinquished in a 25-15 win.
 
Nalbach had four kills in the third set, while McCarthy gave Slippery Rock three kills in addition to her three aces in the set.
 
However, a chance for the reverse sweep was not to be. Edinboro turned a narrow two-point (16-14) lead midway through the fourth set into a daunting 23-15 edge in what turned out to be the final set of the evening courtesy of a 7-1 run that gave way to the eventual 25-18 match-clinching victory.
 
Slippery Rock ended the night holding advantages over Edinboro in kills (45-40) and digs (53-45). Edinboro bettered The Rock in attack percentage (.113 / .090) and total blocks (8-7). Both teams served seven aces.
 
Makayla Neelands led Edinboro with a 10-kill, 14-dig, two-ace double-double.
 
Slippery Rock returns to the court 1 p.m. Saturday against Gannon University at Morrow Field House.
 



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