Shepherd University Athletics

SHEPHERD SPLITS CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL ACTION

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W. Va. -- Shepherd University split a pair of conference matches at the Butcher Athletic Center on Saturday. The Rams dropped a 23-30, 16-30,16-30 decision to West Virginia State, but rebounded with a 30-11, 30-24, 30-9 triumph over WVU Tech.

Junior middle hitter Lauren Durbin (Fairplay, MD/Grace Academy) had 12 kills against State, while junior outside hitter Susanna Hill (Clear Spring, MD/Grace Academy) and junior defensive specialist Lindsey Smith (Romney, WV/Hampshire HS) each had a team-high 10 digs.

"State came out and got into our heads from the moment they stepped into our gym," noted head coach Sarah Smith. "It seemed like we were playing at State versus playing at home. We needed more output from our other players offensively, but unfortunately could not do it. State out dug us, and we could not serve effectively which cost us the match."

Freshman outside hitter Brittany Clem (Edinburg, VA/ Stonewall Jackson HS) had seven kills in seven attempts to help with the win over Tech. Freshman Kori Ford (Fredericksburg, VA/ Chancellor HS) also had 12 kills on 15 attempts with no errors to attack at .800. Junior Taylor Darnley (Yorktown, VA/ Grafton HS) also had seven kills with one hitting error to post a .600 attack percentage. Sophomore setter Kristy Cramer (Fayetteville, PA/Chambersburg Area HS) had seven aces and 29 assists for the match, while Lindsey Smith added 15 digs for the effort.

"The girls fought back against Tech to end the week going 2-2, " added Smith. "That was our goal this week. We have had six games in seven days, but we battled on through soreness to achieve our goal. Our freshmen had a good night and senior Beth Schaible (Winchester, VA/James Wood HS) had six aces to help us. We have a lot to improve upon next week as we face Bowie on Thursday and Glenville away on Saturday We are not home again until the 18th, so we need to pick up key wins on the road."

Shepherd moves to 7-14 overall, 5-4 in conference play.