The Wright State volleyball team defeated Fort Wayne 3-2 (19-25, 25-18, 18-25, 25-12, 15-13) in a thrilling five-set match this evening.

First Set Highlights

The Mastodons opened the match scoring five of the first six points and kept the lead for the remainder of the set.  The Raiders were only able to bring it to within three points during the set at 22-19, but the Mastodons finished strong to win the first set.  The Raiders had 13 kills for a .111 hitting percentage while Fort Wayne finished with 14 kills for a .316 hitting percentage.

Second Set Highlights

The Mastodons started the second set gaining another early lead, but the Raiders came back to tie the set at 15-15.  After a service error from the Mastodons to put the Raiders up 17-16, the Raiders went on an 8-0 run to take the lead and the set.  The Raiders had 14 kills for a .278 hitting percentage while Fort Wayne finished with only six kills for a .186 hitting percentage.  Senior middle blocker Megan Hopkins led the set with six kills while freshman Abby Barcus posted four kills with one of those kills closing the set.

Third Set Highlights

Fort Wayne started by scoring the first four points of set number three.  The Mastodons never gave up their early lead and took the third set holding the Raiders to a .121 hitting percentage.

Fourth Set Highlights

The Raiders were unable to take the lead in the fourth set early on, but that didn't stop them from overpowering the Mastodons by going on two runs of 7-0 to win the set 25-12.  Barcus and fellow freshman Teddie Sauer led the Raiders in kills by posting five kills each.  The freshmen duo together posted 10 of the 14 kills made by the Raiders in the fourth set, forcing a fifth and final frame.

Fifth Set Highlights
 
The Mastodons held another early lead in the set until the Raiders tied it at 4-4, after an attack error from the Mastodons.  Barcus led the Raiders to a win in the fifth set with six kills out of the nine recorded in the set by the Raiders.  Barcus led Wright State overall with career highs in kills and digs posting 17 kills and six digs throughout the match for a .400 hitting percentage.  Sauer also had a career high in kills recording 10 for a .350 hitting percentage for the match.  Senior Maddie Lohmeier had a season high as well with 50 assists.

What Coach Clements is Saying

"Tonight was a great win for this team.  We had a lot of unusual scenarios off the court we were managing and it was terrific to know this group could focus and fight with grit.  It was a tough environment to play in and our team handled it well.  I'm proud of them and it's a big confidence boost for them to never give up and take a victory in five sets."

Next Up

The Raiders will host Harvard, Tennessee Tech and West Virginia in the Holiday Inn Invitational this weekend.