LOUISVILLE – The Wright State volleyball team opened its 2023 season at the Cardinal Classic Friday afternoon, falling in three sets to No. 21 Washington State.
 
The Raiders (0-1) are back in action on Saturday at 4 p.m., taking on Troy. They wrap up weekend action on Sunday afternoon against tournament host Louisville. Sunday's match is set for 2 p.m. and can be seen on ACC Network Extra.
 
Five different players tallied kills for Wright State, paced by a career-best eight kills from Elena Dubuc. Reilly Zegunis also tallied eight kills in her collegiate debut, while Megan Alders and Sam Ott each recorded seven kills in the loss. Ott, along with Callie Martin and Jenny Morey, all had one service ace, while Morey's 12 digs were a team high. Katie Meyer passed out 29 assists to run the offensive attack.
 
OF NOTE…
- For Dubuc, the eight kills on Friday were a third of the way to her season total of 24 kills as a freshman. Her previous career-best was a six-kill effort against Robert Morris last October, while she also had a trio of four kill efforts in her opening season.  
- Meyer's 29 assists on Friday mark her 10th straight contest with 20 or more assists, dating back to the end of last season. She now has 15 career matches with double-digit assists.
- Zegunis' eight kills Friday were the most by a Wright State freshman in their first collegiate match since former Raider Teddie Sauer (2017-2021) had nine kills in her debut six years ago to the day (Aug. 25, 2017) against Long Beach State in tournament action.
 
SET ONE
Both sides traded points in the early going, with Alders recording the first kill of the season for the Raiders and Morey following with a service ace to get the scoring underway. Callie Martin notched a kill and a service ace for back-to-back points, followed moments later by a Dubuc kill, to knot the score at 5-5. Following three quick points from Washington State, the Raider pulled within one at 8-7 thanks to a pair of errors, but Washington State used a 6-0 run to take control of the opening set from there.
 
SET TWO
An Alders kill and a pair of kills from Dubuc helped the Raiders early as the set was tied at 4-4. A three-point margin at the midpoint of the set, Washington State scored seven of the next eight points to open up the advantage before Wright State responded with a 5-1 run thanks to kills from Dubuc and Ott. Washington State then tallied the next four points to gain the advantage, closing the set with six of the final nine points.
 
SET THREE
Early kills from Dubuc, Ott and Zegunis gave the Raiders a 5-3 advantage before the sides alternated points all the way through the midpoint of the set. Tied at 14-all, Washington State recorded the next four points to gain some breathing room. Wright State used a 5-1 run thanks to kills from Alders and Ott to pull to 23-21 before Washington State closed the match with the final two points of the afternoon.