MARION, Ind. – Indiana Wesleyan Women's Volleyball bounced back from Saturday's loss at Taylor in a big way Monday night, rallying from an 18-25 opening-set loss to win the next three sets and beat No. 18 The Master's University (Calif.), 3-1. Shae Williams powered the comeback with a match-high 19 kills on .359 hitting, and Blair Gardiner delivered 36 assists and four service aces as the Wildcats out-served and out-blocked the Mustangs, 8 aces to 3 and 8.0 blocks to 2.0. Ranked No. 16, IWU improves to 16-8 overall.
THE ESSENTIALS
- Location: Marion, Ind.
- Records: Indiana Wesleyan 16-8 overall, 8-3 CRL; The Master's (Calif.) 13-6
- NAIA Rankings: IWU - #16 | The Master's - #18
SET 1 (L, 18-25)
- Tied at 4-4 early, IWU watched The Master's pull away behind a six-point run (6-5 to 12-5) that included an ace and three attack errors on IWU's side.
- The Wildcats answered with a 3-0 run to trim the gap to 14-9 and later a 4-0 run (20-11 to 20-15), led by kills from Shae Williams and Marin Sanchez.
- The Mustangs added a 4-0 burst of their own and a 3-0 run late (20-15 to 23-15) to close out the opener, 25-18.
SET 2 (W, 25-21)
- The Mustangs jumped to a 3-0 lead, but IWU answered with a 4-0 run (4-2 to 4-6) to take its first lead of the night, helped by back-to-back kills from Williams.
- The set was a seesaw affair with 14 ties, including The Master's 3-0 run to reclaim a 13-12 edge.
- Tied at 19, the Wildcats broke it open with a 3-0 run on the serve of Aubree Deshetsky, capped by a Deshetsky ace, and closed it out, 25-21.
SET 3 (W, 25-17)
- IWU took control early with a 4-0 run (3-2 to 3-6) behind two Williams aces, then added a 3-0 run to go up 4-9.
- Gardiner then served a four-point run (6-11 to 6-15) that included two aces, pushing the lead to nine.
- The Wildcats finished the set with a 3-0 run for a 25-17 win led by kills for Shae Williams and Aubree Deshetsky.
SET 4 (W, 26-24)
- IWU opened with a 3-0 run, but The Master's answered with a 3-0 run to tie it at 5 and later a 5-0 run to move ahead, 15-13.
- The Wildcats responded with a six-point run (15-13 to 15-19) on Morgan Osborn's serve, including an ace.
- The Mustangs rallied from 20-23 down with a 3-0 run to tie the set at 23, but Williams and Gardiner each delivered kills in the final points to close the match, 26-24.
KEY WILDCATS
- Shae Williams — 19 kills, .359 hitting percentage, 4 block assists, 2 aces, 23.0 points
- Aubree Deshetsky — 14 kills, 18 digs, 15.5 points
- Blair Gardiner — 36 assists, 4 aces, 3 kills, 8 digs
- Camaya Murry — 15 digs
- Marin Sanchez — 8 kills
- Alivia Morgan — 4.0 total blocks, 2 kills
- Morgan Osborn — 4 digs, 1 ace
LOOKING AHEAD
- Indiana Wesleyan hits the road Wednesday at 7 p.m. for a Crossroads League match at Marian University (Ind.). The Knights took the first meeting between the teams, 3-2, on Sept. 8.
- Links for live stats and video are available at IWUWildcats.com.
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