GEORGETOWN, Ky. -- It was a potentially scary weekend of play this weekend for the Indiana Wesleyan University volleyball team as they took part in the ultra-competitive Boneyard Brawl in Georgetown, Kentucky.

IWU (26-7) matched up with three teams ranked No. 14 or better plus the team directly behind them in the NAIA Top-25 Poll. Indiana Wesleyan split their two matches today to finish the weekend 2-2. IWU defeated #RV Bryan 3-0 in the opening match on Saturday and then lost 3-0 to #13 Columbia (Mo.). On Friday, Indiana Wesleyan defeated No. 9 Viterbo (Wis.) and lost to No. 14 Davenport (Mich.).

“Today was about fight,” said IWU head coach Candace Moats. “We fought off an excellent Bryan team and then finished the day against a strong Columbia program. Columbia brought a lot of offensive power which challenges our blockers to reach another level. I was extremely proud of our ability and effort especially after having a poor first set. We leave this weekend feeling that we got strong already for the postseason.”

Indiana Wesleyan and Bryan (20-7) were right next to each other in the last national ranking in the receiving votes section. IWU pulled out the three game win by scores of 28-26, 25-21, 25-20.

Alijah Mulitauopele (SR/Colorado Springs, Colo.) led the club with 13 kills and a .367 hitting percentage. Bianca Cifaldi (SO/Itasca, Ill.) finished with 12 kills and Morgan Miller (FR/Goshen, Ind.) added 11 kills. Remy Bucknor (SO/Euless, Texas) contributed nine kills and Kylie Portera (SO/Lake in the Hills, Ill.) added eight. Kate Holler assisted on 48 attacks while Miller and Kelly Cypher (JR/Libertyville, Ill.) each served one ace.

Ashlen Buck (SO/Brazil, Ind.) collected 17 digs while Banner Rodgers (FR/Carrollton, Texas) had 11. The Wildcats blocked five Lion attack attempts with Portera leading the way with three block assists.

In the weekend finale, Columbia (19-4) won by scores of 25-9, 28-26, 25-23.

Miller was the lone Wildcat to hit double digit kills vs. Columbia with 11. Cifaldi had eight kills, Mulitauopele and Portera tallied six kills, and Bucknor had five. Holler finished with 31 assists while Rodgers and Sam Elkin (SO/Ebensburg, Pa.) each served one ace.

Buck totaled 15 digs and Holler had 11. The Wildcats blocked five Columbia attacks with Bucknor blocking one and assisting on two others. Cifaldi assisted on three blocks.

Indiana Wesleyan will complete the regular season this upcoming week with three Crossroads League matches. The first of those comes at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Huntington (Ind.).