WARRENSBURG, Mo. - With the start of the season officially underway, the University of Mary Volleyball team took part in the Peggy Martin Challenge hosted by the University of Central Missouri.
 
The Marauders (1-1) fell to Truman State University in four sets for the first result of the day, but U-Mary bounced back in the second match against the University of Illinois-Springfield with a four set victory to close out day one of the challenge.
 
Set one against the Bulldogs was a constant back-and-forth as neither team held a four-point lead until the midpoint, the Bulldogs used a five-point run to extend their lead from 15-13 to 20-13 to keep the pressure on the Marauders. U-Mary fought back, though, with a 9-2 run capped off by a handful of kills from Lauren Randall and Janell Finkbeiner, coupled with a block assist by Randall and Rachel Astrup to tie the set at 22 apiece.
 
The team traded points once again with Truman State holding a 26-25 advantage, but the Marauders forced two errors to swing the lead back to 27-26 in their favor and punctuated the first set win with a Paige Smith kill.
 
The second set had shades of the first as both team once again fought on the seesaw as both kept the score within three points midway through the set. The Bulldogs built their lead up to 14-10 with a couple of U-Mary errors coupled with a block, but the Marauders came right back with two kills, an error, and an Alexis Jacobs ace to narrow Truman State's lead to 15-14.
 
The Bulldogs would not be deterred as they notched eight of the next 11 points for a comfortable 23-17 lead as U-Mary's offense stalled and Truman State came away with the second set win.
 
Set three was all about the Marauders in the early goings as U-Mary rattled off the first four points of the set and held onto a three-point lead at 14-11. Truman State quickly closed the gap and scored four unanswered points to regain the lead at 15-14, followed by both teams trading points en route to a 20-20 tie. The Bulldogs closed the door on U-Mary's efforts as they scored five out of the next six points to gain a 2-1 advantage through three sets over the Marauders.
 
U-Mary kept within three points in what would be the final set as Truman State couldn't build a lead of greater than four points, and the Marauders had an opportunity to take the match to a fifth set as they held a 23-20 lead. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs would not go away quietly as they tied the game at 24-24 and again at 25-25 before handing U-Mary their first loss of the season with a 27-25 final in set four.
 
Lauren Randall led the charge in the first game as she totaled 21 kills on 49 attacks for a .347 attack percentage; she also notched her first double double of the season with 15 digs in the game.
 
Thayna Silva helped her on the offensive end as she totaled 10 kills on 40 attacks and also recorded a double double with 16 digs in the match.
 
Janell Finkbeiner and Katelyn Olson split time as the primary setter with Finkbeiner totaling 27 assists and Olson totaling 18.
 
Alex Brown proved her player to watch status as she anchored the defense with 27 digs in the match.
 
The second match of the day sung a different tune as U-Mary took on Illinois-Springfield and the Marauders found themselves in a similar situation with both teams trading points and neither gaining a definitive advantage. The Marauders held a 24-22 advantage late in the first set before the Prairie Stars tied it up at 24-24, but U-Mary ended the match with a Randall kill and an Illinois-Springfield error to take the first set 26-24.
 
The Marauders opened up the floodgate in the second set as they used every aspect of the court to build a 17-7 lead over the Prairie Stars; but Illinois-Springfield fought tooth and nail to get back into the game with a 12-3 run to cut U-Mary's lead down to 20-19. Persistence would pay off, however, as the Marauders scored five of the next six points off an ace, a couple of kills and a couple of Prairie Stars errors to take the second set at 25-21.
 
U-Mary was looking for the sweep in the third set but couldn't find the right combination to put the Prairie Stars away as Illinois-Springfield held a 19-18 advantage in the set before keeping the match alive with a 6-2 run to force the fourth set off a 25-20 victory.
 
Yet the final set of the match was all about U-Mary as they jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and never looked back en route to a convincing 25-21 victory thanks to a solid all-around effort on the court.
 
Randall once again led the way with her second double double in as many games with 19 kills and 11 digs to go with a .314 attack percentage.
 
Silva was right behind her as she, too, recorded her second double double with 10 kills and 17 digs.
 
Olson spent the second match of the day as the primary driver of the offense as she recorded a career best 36 assists.
 
Brown finished the second match with 21 digs, continuing her torrid pace from the 2014 season as the centerpiece to the defense.
 
Elizabeth Garcia made her presence felt with nine kills at a .368 clip with two solo blocks, two block assists and a service ace.
 
The Marauders will face the University of Central Missouri tomorrow in the early game, followed by a match against Western State Colorado University in the afternoon matchup.
 
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