BOWLING GREEN, OH – The Wright State volleyball team fought back Thursday afternoon to force a deciding fifth set before falling in heartbreaking fashion to Texas A&M in the Raiders' first match at the Hampton Inn Invitational.
 
The Raiders (1-3) are back in action Friday afternoon against (RV) Loyola Chicago at 3 p.m. in a match that can be watched on YouTube. Wright State ends the weekend on Saturday against host Bowling Green (2 p.m., ESPN+).
 
On Thursday, Wright State took the opening set 25-23 before falling in the second and third sets to Texas A&M (3-0). The Raiders battled back from five points back halfway through the fourth set to eventually tally the final three points of the set and force the deciding fifth set. In the final set, Wright State led 8-2 early and also had an opportunity to close the match at 15-14 before Texas A&M pulled out the win.
 
Megan Alders matched a career-best with 23 kills on Thursday, adding three service aces, three blocks and three digs. Callie Martin and Katie Meyer each recorded double-doubles, with Martin collecting 14 kills to go with 10 digs while Meyer passed out 43 of the Raiders' 54 assists and collected 11 digs of her own. Andrea Bortulin added three service aces, while Reilly Zegunis had a team-high five assists and both Martin and Aaliyah Byers turned away four blocks.
 
OF NOTE…
- Alders' 23 kills Thursday are now tied for her career-high with a 23-kill effort against Marshall in 2021. It was her second straight double-digit kill effort in 2023 and the 44th time in her career she has tallied 10 or more kills.
-The three service aces for Alders are one shy of her career best four, set at Green Bay back in October 2019. The three service aces Thursday were the first of the season for her after she recorded just one over the 2020, 2021 and 2022 seasons.
-Martin's double-double was her first of the season after she recorded 10-plus kills and digs 13 times in 2022. She now has 26 double-doubles in her career.
- Camryn Hausler's four kills on Thursday were one more than her career total entering the day and her first since November 12, 2022 at Youngstown State.
-Down two points late in the fifth set, freshman Lauren Yacobucci was called on for her first collegiate action, promptly passing out the first assist of her career.
 
SET ONE
Back-and-forth throughout the set, the two sides traded four-point runs early in the set but otherwise neither side could string together more than a two-point run at a time. Tied at 22-all, an Elena Dubuc kill gave the Raiders the momentary advantage before she ended the set with another kill moments later for the 25-23 set win.
 
SET TWO
Texas A&M jumped ahead early with seven of the first eight points before a 6-2 Raider run pulled Wright State to within three at 18-15. After the sides traded three-point runs, Texas A&M closed the set with four of the final six points to take the set 25-20.
 
SET THREE
Texas A&M tallied the first six points and 12 of the first 14 overall and didn't look back. Wright State used a 3-0 run behind kills from Alders and Martin to cut the deficit in half, but the Aggies closed the set at 25-14.
 
SET FOUR
Both sides traded points early before Texas A&M opened up to a 13-8 advantage. The Raiders battled back with a 5-1 run thanks to kills from Martin and Hausler and then later rolled off five straight points to take a 19-18 lead behind kills from Alders, Byers and Dubuc. Facing match point, Wright State tied the set at 24-all with a Byers kill before the sides alternated the next three points. Set with another match point, Alders kept the Raiders alive with a kill to knot the score at 26-all before back-to-back kills from Dubuc and Alders gave Wright State the set 28-26 and forced the deciding set.
 
SET FIVE
The Raiders jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the deciding set thanks to kills from Alders, Martin and Zegunis before Texas A&M dug back into the set with five straight points. Wright State responded and extended the advantage to 10-7 and then at 11-9 before the Aggies used a 4-0 run to take the lead at 13-11. Faced with another match point down 14-12, the Raiders rolled off three straight points behind a trio of Texas A&M errors before the Aggies responded with three straight points of their own to close the set and the night at 17-15.