The Wright State volleyball team fell 3-1 against Tulsa (14-25, 20-25, 25-21, 19-25) in the final day of the Cougar Classic at SIU Edwardsville.

First Set Highlights

The Raiders started the match 4-2, before Tulsa went on a 7-0 run to gain a 9-4 lead.  The Raiders had 11 kills as senior middle blocker Megan Hopkins lead the way with five.  Tulsa had 13 kills.

Second Set Highlights

The score remained close in the beginning of the second set with the first tie at 15 all after a kill from senior Megan Hopkins.  The Golden Hurricane responded immediately with a kill and kept the lead outscoring the Raiders 10-5 to win the set, 25-20.  The Raiders tied the Golden Hurricane with a total of 15 kills in the set.  Freshman Celia Powers led the Raiders with 4 kills.

Third Set Highlights

The Raiders came out fast in the third set going on a 9-4 run.  They kept the lead throughout the entire set only letting the Golden Hurricane within three, with the score 23-20.  Seniors Katie Klusman and Megan Hopkins each tallied a crucial kill to clinch the third game.  Klusman posted seven kills to lead all attackers in the third set.

Fourth Set Highlights

The fourth set started off with a service ace from both Wright State and Tulsa.  The two teams battled back and forth throughout the fourth set before Tulsa pulled away towards the middle of the set making the score 11-7.  Wright State closed the gap with a string of kills and a timely service ace from senior Rachel Kremer, which tied the set at 15 all.  Wright State pulled away with a pair of blocks and kills taking a 19-18 lead.  The Golden Hurricane battled back and regained the lead before winning the fourth set, 25-19.  Both teams posted a total of 12 kills in the set.  

Katie Klusman led Wright State in the match with 15 kills while senior setter Maddie Lohmeier posted a match-high 49 assists.  Klusman was named to the Cougar Classic All-Tournament Team.

What Coach Clements is Saying 

"We found a lot of balance with our offense against the tournament champion, Tulsa.  In the end, our passing broke down.  We started out this tournament making a lot of errors and ended playing much cleaner."

Next Up

The Raiders will travel to Fort Wayne, IN on Tuesday to take on Fort Wayne at 7:00 pm.  Fort Wayne was picked to finish fourth in the Summit League.  Nicole Rightnowar was chosen as a Player to Watch by the coaches. Rightnowar, the 2015 Summit League Freshman of the Year, earned All-League honors last year after finishing fourth in Summit League play with 225 total kills and fifth with 3.63 kills per set. The outside hitter was also fifth in points and points per set, eighth in total digs and 11th in digs per set. Overall for the year, Rightnowar finished with a team-best 396 kills and was second on the team with 329 digs.