SSU VB honors Colling; hits .298 in straight-set triumph over Ohio Christian (25-14, 25-17, 25-21)

Going out a winner in one's final home game -- and through a straight-set victory at that -- is as good as it gets for any senior athlete.

The Shawnee State volleyball program ensured that senior frontline hitter Bethany Colling went out a winner Saturday afternoon at Waller Gymnasium, as the Bears immediately jumped out to a 15-4 lead in the opening set en route to a 25-14 first set victory and racked up 41 kills on a .298 attack percentage to win in convincing fashion over the Ohio Christian Trailblazers' volleyball program Saturday afternoon in a River States Conference contest that was held in Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth.

Wamsley, Lewis, Barney control play at net

Led by junior standout Haidyn Wamsley, Shawnee State was never truly threatened in the straight set triumph as the former Northwest talent and graduate was tremendous from start to finish in Saturday's victory.

With Shawnee State holding a modest 12-9 advantage in the second set, Wamsley helped the Bears pull away by notching six kills over the final 21 volleys of the set to lead the Bears to a 25-17 second-set win. The athletic talent then posted four kills and two blocks in the final stanza to finalize a fantastic performance -- one in where Wamsley not only notched 13 kills on 19 attack attempts without an attack error, but posted four blocks to boot.

Plenty of additional help, however, was present behind Wamsley.

As Wamsley got cooking later on in the contest, Wheelersburg product Kylee Barney proved to be terrific herself. The junior notched three of her eight kills for the contest in the opening 16 volleys of the match, helping Shawnee State jump out to first set leads of 13-3 and 15-4 to begin the contest. Having led SSU in kills with 235 of them coming into the match, Barney also continued her efficiency by hitting a strong .412 with her eight kills coming on 17 attack attempts -- and just one attack error.

Lewis, who like Wamsley is a product out of Northwest, delivered by not only leading Shawnee State with 22 assists, but aiding Wamsley on the front line with two solo blocks of her own as the pair combined for six of the Bears' seven solo blocks on the afternoon.

Colling adds to strong four-year career at SSU

A terrific frontline talent, Shawnee State's lone senior, Bethany Colling, fittingly contributed in a big way. The senior, a Zanesville, Ohio native, appropriately launched a soft touch over the net for the match's opening point, then followed it up by notching two kills in the first three volleys of the second set while helping SSU go on a 4-0 push toward the beginning of the second frame in the process.

Colling, who finished with seven kills in 12 attack attempts, ultimately notched a .250 attack percentage for the contest. The senior has 623 kills, 52 solo blocks and 196 total blocks for her career at Shawnee State.

Additional

Saturday's straight-set victory was a team effort from top to bottom, as evidenced by Megan Steele's six kills on a .278 attack percentage and six digs, Faith Kuhn's six kills on a .231 attack percentage, Makaela Lovely's 19 assists and 15-dig efforts apiece from Makenna Lovely and Gretchen Chaney.

SSU finished the regular season 16-11 overall and 11-8 in the River States Conference. The Bears held Ohio Christian (12-19, 7-12 RSC) to a .045 attack percentage with just one player hitting above a .080 attack percentage mark for the entire match.

With the victory, the Bears will await their fate in the upcoming RSC Tournament. Dates and times of matchups will be announced by River States Conference officials at a date in the near future.

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