HUNTINGTON, WV – Travers Green didn't have to wait long in his Raider tenure to check off multiple boxes, as the head coach picked up his first career win as a head coach on Friday afternoon in the Wright State volleyball team's 3-1 victory over Evansville.
 
The Raiders (1-0) now prepare to take on tournament host Marshall on Saturday afternoon at noon. That match is expected to be streamed on ESPN+ for fans to follow the action.
 
Friday afternoon, Green saw Wright State drop a tough-fought opening set, 25-23, before rolling off the three consecutive set wins, with 11- and nine-point wins in sets two and four sandwiched between a 26-24 third set victory.
 
Taylor Bransfield led the Raiders offensively with 16 kills, while Callie Martin and Sam Ott each just missed out on double figures with nine each. Ott added four of Wright State's seven service aces, including one that clinched the fourth set, while Bransfield and Martin each stuffed five blocks at the net. Lainey Stephenson passed out 41 of the Raiders' 52 assists, while she and Jenna Story each collected 15 digs and Martin tallied 11 digs of her own.
 


SET ONE
Wright State recorded the first three points of the afternoon, with a Bransfield kill the first tally of the season, but Evansville responded with six of the next eight points as the teams would go on to trade points from there. Evansville pushed out to a 23-19 advantage late, the largest for either side down the stretch, before the Raiders used a kill from Aaiyah Byers to get to 20 points. After Evansville reached match point on a Raider attack error, Wright State rolled off three straight points, aided by kills from Martin and Megan Alders, before the Purple Aces closed the set.
 
SET TWO
For the second consecutive set, the Raiders opened with the first three points, but this time extended the advantage as the set continued on, ballooning the margin to 14-6 behind multiple kills from Martin, Ott and Stephenson. A 6-1 run late in the set thanks to three more kills from Ott and one each from Alders, Bransfield and Martin pushed the margin to 23-11. A pair of Raider attack errors gave Evansville momentary life, but a Bransfield kill pushed the set to the limit and Wright State wrapped it up moments later on an Evansville service error to tie the match.
 
SET THREE
A set of runs, the Raiders led 8-4 early and then again at 11-7 before Evansville tallied a 6-3 rally of its own to pull within a point at 14-13. Another scoring stretch from the Purple Aces, this time seven of nine points, pushed Evansville to a 20-17 lead late in the set. Not to be outdone, the Raiders recorded the next six points to turn the tide and take a 23-20 advantage behind two kills from Ott and one each from Bransfield and Martin. Following two quick points from Evansville, Wright State reached set point at 24-22 on a Martin kill, but Evansville again responded with back-to-back kills. Knotted at 24-all, the Purple Aces handed momentum back to the Raiders with a service error before Ott's service ace locked up the set for Wright State.
 
SET FOUR
After the sides traded early points, the Raiders six straight points behind a pair of Bransfield kills to take a 10-3 advantage and never looked back. Wright State tallied a stretch where it tallied eight of nine points to push the margin to 18-5 and later led 20-6 before Evansville recorded five consecutive points to pull to 20-11. Kills from Elena Dubuc and Bransfield, along with an Evansville service error, pushed the Raiders to the brink before a final Bransfield kill ended the afternoon.