WAYNE, Neb. - Facing the daunting task of two ranked opponents over the weekend, the University of Mary Volleyball team took on #6 Wayne State College for the start of longest road trip of the season.
 
The Marauders (9-13, 4-9 NSIC) had to play catch-up for most of the match but ultimately fell to the Wildcats (19-3, 11-2 NSIC) as U-Mary begins searching for their 10th win of the season.
 
U-Mary held a 4-2 lead early in the first set as Freddie Campbell and Elizabeth Garcia provided the dual look against the Wildcats. Wayne State would not be deterred as they rallied for four straight points to take the lead at 6-4 and never looked back throughout the remainder of the set.
 
The Marauders wouldn't go away quietly though as they kept the score close during the majority of the set, and narrowed the deficit to 9-8 and stayed right behind at 13-11 and again at 16-13. The Wildcats proved too much in the set, however, as they built up a 21-15 advantage and coasted to the 25-19 first set win.
 
The second set started out rough for the Marauders as Wayne State built up a 5-1 lead before U-Mary could respond with three straight points off a Garcia kill, a Casey Reamann service ace, and a Wildcat error to narrow it back down to 5-4. The Wildcats rebuilt their cushion, though, with a quick 5-1 run that extended the lead up to 10-5 with U-Mary matching Wayne State point-for-point en route to an 11-8 score favoring the home team.
 
The Wildcats opened up their lead at that point as the rallied off seven straight points before the Marauders could muster the response, but it made little difference as Wayne State again cruised to a 25-13 win in the second set to put U-Mary on the brink of another three-set sweep.
 
The third set sung a different tune early on as the Marauders held the advantage at 9-7 as they kept pace with Wayne State, but the Wildcats employed a high-powered look as they took seven of the next eight points to regain the lead at 14-10. U-Mary appeared to have a response with a quick team block from Campbell and Garcia to go with a Wildcat error to narrow the gap down to 14-12, but the Wildcats wouldn't slow as they methodically built up a 23-14 lead and ended up with the sweep at 25-16.
 
Rachel Astrup led the offense for U-Mary as she finished with seven kills on 10 attacks for a .600 hitting percentage, along with one block assist.
 
Lauren Randall aided her with six kills and two block assists, while Alexis Jacobs added five kills and 11 digs on the night to round out the trio.
 
Casey Reamann anchored the back line as she recorded 16 digs and one service ace on the evening.
 
Thayna Silva helped out on the back line as well as she earned 13 digs to go with two kills and five assists for the all-around effort.
 
Katelyn Olson had a hand in every phase of the match as she directed the offense with 14 assists, while adding two kills, one block assist and five digs in the match.
 
Elizabeth Garcia continues to be a force on the net as she earned four block assists to go with two digs, four assists and four kills.
 
The Marauders will take on #21 Augustana University tomorrow afternoon in Sioux Falls, S.D., starting at 3 PM before returning home next week.
 
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