MILWAUKEE – The Wright State volleyball team wrapped up play in the Marquette Invitational with a five-set win over UTSA on Saturday afternoon in the Raiders' final non-conference match of the season.
Wright State now turns its attention to Horizon League play, which will begin at home for the Raiders next Saturday afternoon inside McLin Gymnasium against Northern Kentucky.
On Saturday, Wright State and UTSA traded set wins, with the Raiders grabbing a 25-17 first set victory and a 25-21 third set win, while UTSA won the second and fourth sets by scores of 25-14 and 25-20 to set up the deciding fifth set that Wright State won 15-11.
Celia Powers finished with a double-double behind 21 digs and 15 kills to lead the Raiders, while
Teddie Sauer added 12 kills of her own. Wright State finished with seven aces, including three from
Ellee Ruskaup, while Sauer and
Nyssa Baker each stuffed five blocks in the win. Powers turned away four blocks of her own as the Raiders notched 13 total blocks as a team.
Lainey Stephenson passed out 45 assists, two shy of her season-high, while the Raiders had 104 total digs over the five sets, led by
Jenna Story's 29. In addition to Story and Powers, Stephenson (16) and
Jenny Morey (12) also finished with double-digit digs.
The first set was a set of runs, with the Raiders rolling off 11 straight points to break open what had been a tight opening set to take the early lead. UTSA tallied a stretch of 10 of the 12 total points midway through the second set to gain control and tie the match before Wright State used a 6-0 run late in the third set to push to set point in what had been a tight set. Tied at 17-all in the fourth set, UTSA tallied the next seven points to take the set and force the deciding fifth set, where UTSA had the lead at 11-9 before the Raiders closed the afternoon with a 6-0 run to end the match.