SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Concord University volleyball team began its season by splitting a pair of matches at the Raider Classic, beating Dominican in three sets before falling in the nightcap to host Shippensburg.
Match 1: Concord 3 – Dominican 0
Concord breezed to a sweep over the Chargers as CU won 25-15, 25-14, 25-11 in three sets.
The Mountain Lions slowly pulled away from DC in the middle part of the set including scoring four straight points at 19-11 in the set to gain a 23-11 lead before winning 25-15.
CU opened up the second set on a 5-1 run before the Chargers closed to within 13-10, but that was as close as Dominican would get as Concord won by 11 points. In set three, the Mountain Lions left little doubt they would sweep Dominican as they started the set 12-4 and won by 14 points, 25-11.
Sophomore outside hitter
Alexi Pranckus recorded a team-high seven kills without an error while adding 12 digs. Sophomore middle hitter
Brooke Heck also did not commit in her six-kill effort. Sophomore libero
Erin Shannon tallied a team-high 17 kills. Junior setter
Casey Mandeville dished out 15 assists while freshman setter
Jenna Mounts notched 11 assists.
Match 2: Shippensburg 3 – Concord 0
The Raiders won a close first set, 25-21, before taking the next sets 25-16 and 25-19.
Set one went back and forth before Shippensburg closed on a 5-2 run to go up 1-0. After CU climbed back at 18-16 in the second set, SU scored seven straight points to take a 2-0 lead. The Mountain Lions fought back in the early stages of the third set, but Shippensburg went on a 6-2 from a 10-10 tie, eventually sweeping Concord in three sets.
Pranckus once against led CU with seven kills and six digs. Junior middle hitter Alexi Elliott added four kills and four blocks while Shannon put together a 16-dig match.
The Mountain Lions return to action 11:30 a.m. Saturday against Southern New Hampshire.
