The Wright State volleyball team fell 3-1 against UIC (21-25, 20-25, 25-20, 20-25) to end their first weekend at home against conference opponents.

First Set Highlights

UIC took an early 5-1 lead in the first set after going on a 4-0 run, but senior Megan Hopkins was able to side out for the Raiders with a kill that ended the Flames run.  UIC answered back by going on a 2-0 run before Wright State called their first timeout of the set at 7-2.  Coming out of the timeout the Raiders had the momentum on their side and they went on a 3-0 run which started from a ball handling error by UIC.  Both teams continued to battle back-and-forth posting kills, and the Raiders were able to pull within one point of the Flames at 10-9.  UIC extended their lead after going on a couple of 2-0 runs to 14-10 before Wright State called their second timeout.  Coming out of the timeout the Raiders rallied and went on a 3-0 run to pull once again within one point of the flames at 14-13.  The Raiders kept the score close, but another 3-0 run by UIC allowed the Flames to pull ahead at 19-15.  UIC took their first timeout of the game at 19-17 after Wright State put down two kills to pull within two points.  Coming out of the timeout the Raiders put up a block against UIC's Alexandria Hicks and pulled within one point at 19-18.  UIC was able to hang onto their lead throughout the rest of the set and won the first set at 25-21.  Freshman hitter Teddie Sauer led the Raiders with four kills while Hopkins posted three kills.

Second Set Highlights

The Raiders scored the first point in the second set with a kill from Powers, but UIC answered back with their own kill, keeping the score close and tying the game twice at 1-1 and 2-2.  Wright State was able to pull ahead on a couple of runs and took a big lead at 10-4, forcing UIC to take their first timeout of the set.  Coming out of the timeout both teams traded points pushing the score to 15-10 with Wright State still in the lead. UIC kept battling in the middle of the set and brought the score within two points at 17-15 after a 3-0 run.  Wright State decided to call their first timeout of the set to try and slow down UIC's comeback.  Coming out of the timeout Wright State's Abby Barcus immediately put down a kill for the Raiders taking the score to 18-15.  The teams continued to battle back-and-forth trading points, but a 3-0 run by UIC allowed the Flames to tie the game at 19-19 after recording back-to-back kills, and then putting up a big block against Sauer.  With the score at 19-19, Wright State called their second timeout.  Coming out of the timeout the Raiders took the lead at 20-19 after a kill from Barcus, but  UIC tied the game again at 20-20 after a service error from the Raiders.  UIC continued to extend their lead, and ended up going on a 5-0 run to win the game 25-20.  Klusman led Wright State with four kills in the second set.  

Third Set Highlights

Wright State and UIC battled back-and-forth throughout the beginning of the set tying the game six separate times and pushing the score to 9-9 before Wright State was able to pull away after a 2-0 run leading 11-9.  Wright State was able to hold their two point lead for a few rallies, but UIC tied the game again at 13-13 after an attack error by the Raiders.  Wright State quickly regained their two point lead off of a UIC service error and a kill by Barcus, but UIC answered back with a kill and a block to tie the game again at 15-15.  Both teams continued to trade points back-and-forth and pushed the score to 18-17 with Wright State in the lead before the Raiders called a timeout.  Coming out of the timeout Wright State went on a 2-0 run extending their lead to 20-17 before UIC called their first timeout of the set.  Coming out of the timeout UIC went on a 2-0 run to close in on the Raiders at 20-19, but the Raiders kept their cool and went on their own 2-0 run thanks to a block and then a service ace from senior libero Jessie Thornton.  Wright State called their final timeout while in the lead at 23-20.   Wright State came out of the timeout and quickly ended the set winning 25-20.  Klusman led Wright State in the third set with five kills of Wright State's 16 kills.

Fourth Set Highlights

Wright State and UIC kept the score close once again throughout the beginning of the set tying the game at 1-1, 2-2, and 4-4 before Wright State took the lead at 6-4 after a 2-0 run.  Both teams continued to trade points back-and-forth pushing the score to 9-6 with Wright State in the lead before UIC took their first timeout of the set.  Coming out of the timeout UIC put down three consecutive kills to tie the game at 9-9.  UIC was able to take the lead at 10-9 after an attack error by the Raiders, and Wright State decided to call their first timeout of the set.  Coming out of the timeout the momentum was still on UIC's side as they went on a 3-0 run extending their lead to 13-9 and forcing Wright State to take their second timeout of the set.  The Raiders were able to side out at 14-10 after putting up a block against UIC, but the Flames answered right back putting down a kill and regaining their five point lead at 15-10.  UIC's front row kept the pressure on the Raiders and the Flames were able to extend their lead to 18-10 before Wright State's Powers slammed down a kill and sided out for the Raiders.  With UIC in the lead at 23-15 the Raiders went on a 5-0 run closing in on the Flames at 23-20, but back-to-back kills from UIC's  Alexandria Hicks ended the set at 25-20.  Barcus led the Raiders in the fourth and final set with four kills of Wright State's ten kills.

Next Up

Wright State continues conference play on the road next Wednesday, Oct. 11 at Youngstown State at 6 p.m. and again on Sunday, Oct. 15 at Milwaukee at 5 p.m.