Slippery Rock volleyball wrapped up a four‑game homestand on Wednesday, finishing the stretch 2–2 after sweeping Frostburg State University and Roberts Wesleyan University at the SRU Invitational before falling to Bloomsburg University and Clarion University.
The homestand opened Friday with a strong showing against Frostburg State. The Bobcats jumped ahead 6-2 after a pair of early SRU attack errors, but The Rock quickly settled in. Trailing 8–5, SRU fired off seven straight points, highlighted by two kills from Marley Annis, to take a 12-8 lead. Slippery Rock controlled the rest of the set and closed it 25-16 on an attack error by Alliyah McNair.
Set two stayed tight early, with Frostburg leading 10-7 behind a McNair kill. Once again, SRU responded with a dominant stretch, taking 15 of the next 19 points to seize control. FSU trimmed the deficit late, but Annis finished the frame with a kill off a Paityn Krause assist to secure a 25-18 win.
The third set brought Frostburg’s strongest push of the match. SRU opened with a 10-5 lead before the Bobcats rattled off six straight points to move ahead 11-10. Chloe Shirk stopped the run, and Ava Haynes followed with a kill to put SRU back in front. The teams traded points to a 20-20 tie before Slippery Rock closed with five straight to complete the sweep. SRU outperformed Frostburg in every major category except blocks, where FSU held a narrow 6-5 edge.
Slippery Rock carried that momentum into its second match of the invitational, sweeping Roberts Wesleyan. The Rock jumped out to a 6-1 lead and later held a commanding 20-12 advantage before the Redhawks surged with an 8-1 run to cut the deficit to one. SRU regrouped quickly, taking four of the final five points, with Shirk securing the set 25-21.
The second set mirrored the first: competitive early, decisive late. Leading 8-7, SRU strung together a 12-4 run capped by a kill from Victoria Nalbach. Roberts Wesleyan couldn’t recover, and an attack error from Tiana Copp ended the set 25-14.
The third set stayed even until SRU pulled ahead 21-19. Kills from Annis and Nalbach and a service error from Camryn Karelus extended the lead to four. After RWU cut it to two, a service error from Julia Dufkova ended the match, giving SRU its second sweep of the weekend. As in the Frostburg match, SRU led in every category except blocks, where RWU held an 8-6 advantage.
Saturday’s matchup with Bloomsburg brought SRU its first setback of the weekend. The Huskies opened with a 3-0 lead before SRU tied the set at 8-8. Slippery Rock briefly went ahead on a kill from Hayden Demind, but Bloomsburg responded and slowly built a 21-16 lead. SRU cut it to 23-20, but a kill from Lena Jones ended the set 25-21.
Set two followed a similar pattern. Tied 3-3, Bloomsburg rattled off five straight points. SRU fought back to 10-10 and stayed within reach, but the Huskies edged out a 25-23 win. Neither team could create separation in the third until Bloomsburg broke an 18–18 tie with a 5-1 run. SRU trimmed the deficit with kills from Gwen McCarthy and Nalbach, but Bloomsburg closed the match 25-21 to complete the sweep.
Slippery Rock looked to rebound Wednesday evening against Clarion but fell in straight sets. SRU opened the match with a point off a Clarion attack error, but the Golden Eagles responded with a 6-4 lead. The Rock answered with four straight points, only for Clarion to counter with a 5-1 run. Annis tied the set at 15-15, but Clarion surged again, taking five of the next six, and ultimately the set 25-17.
Set two began with SRU up 3-1 after a miscue from Kalina Powell, but Clarion quickly flipped momentum with an 8-1 run. The Rock clawed back, tying the frame at 17-17 on a kill from Haynes. Trailing 23-22 after an attack error from Emily Klopp, SRU couldn’t complete the comeback, and Clarion closed the set 25-22.
The third set was the most competitive of the night. Clarion led 10-7 before SRU answered with a four‑point run to take an 11-10 lead. The Golden Eagles regained control at 21-17, but SRU rallied again, tying the set at 21. The teams traded points until Clarion secured the final two, winning 25-23 and completing the sweep.
Following the pair of losses, Slippery Rock now sits at 5-6 overall. The Rock returns to action Sept. 22 when they travel to Amherst, N.Y. to face Daemen University in one of their final non‑conference matchups of the season.
