WAYNE, NE – The University of Mary volleyball team faced their toughest task to date this season against the Wayne State College Wildcats, ranked #1 in the AVCA DII polls for four straight weeks. The Marauders held tough throughout with a solid attack and engaging in rallies, but eventually fell to the top team in the country 3-0 on Friday night (25-12, 25-13, 25-14).

The Marauders (3-17, 2-10 NSIC) gained the first point of the night after Robi Binagi played an unreturnable ball for a kill. The Wildcats (22-0, 12-0 NSIC) then embarked on a 9-2 run to gain a comfortable lead for the duration of set one. Wayne State would take command as the first set carried on toward a 25-12 set win for the Wildcats. Three Marauders gained multiple kills in the opening set.

The Marauders again battled Wayne State tough in the early goings of set two, thanks to a trio of kills and an ace serve from Maddy Freed. Despite some nice plays from multiple Marauders, the Wildcats would slowly pull away with the second set 25-13 thanks to a dominating attack led by Kelsie Cada.

Wayne State control the tempo of set three with a modest lead over UMary onward to a 25-14 set win and the clincher for the sweep. The #1 ranked Wildcats looked impressive in the attack hitting 0.429 for 48 kills. The Marauders hit 0.150 for 28 team kills.

Nehkyah Ellis led the Marauders with seven kills followed by Maddie Cooper and Reyna Isenbart who each hit six, and Robi Binagi added five. Maddy Freed paced the Marauders with 24 assists while also adding an ace serve.
The Marauders will make their way back up north with a stop tomorrow in Sioux Falls, SD, to take on Augustana University (14-6, 6-6 NSIC) for a 5 pm matchup. The Vikings are coming off a victory at home over Minot State University.

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