HUNTINGTON, Ind. – Indiana Wesleyan Women's Volleyball dropped a 33-31 first set Wednesday night, then won the next three for a 3-1 victory (31-33, 25-18, 25-18, 25-23) at Huntington University's Platt Arena. The win was the Wildcats' sixth in a row and gave them a 2-0 season sweep of the Foresters, after the 3-0 win on Sept. 23. IWU improved to 21-8 overall and 13-3 in Crossroads League play. The Wildcats set a season high with 109 digs, led by 32 from Camaya Murry. They also outblocked Huntington 12.0-6.0, outhit the Foresters .177 to .104 and led in kills 60-50.
THE ESSENTIALS
- Location: Huntington, Ind. (Platt Arena)
- Records: Indiana Wesleyan 21-8 overall, 13-3 CRL; Huntington 12-18 overall, 5-11 CRL
- NAIA Rankings: #13 IWU | Huntington: Unranked
SET 1 (L, 31-33)
- The opener was tied 13 times. Huntington jumped out with a 4-0 run (4-2 to 4-6) on Maggie Hollon's serve, and IWU answered with a 4-0 run (4-6 to 8-6), three points of it on Shae Williams's serve.
- Williams served again during a 3-0 run (15-14 to 18-14). Huntington then answered with a 3-0 run (21-17 to 21-20) on Jadyn Samson's serve.
- The teams traded points deep into extra points. IWU led 31-30, but Huntington closed on a 3-0 run (31-30 to 31-33), ending it with a Hollon ace.
- IWU hit .125 in the set, with 19 kills against 11 errors.
SET 2 (W, 25-18)
- The Wildcats led from the first point, opening with a 3-0 run behind Aubree Deshetsky's serve, then added a 3-0 run (3-2 to 6-2) with Murry serving and another (6-3 to 9-3) with Williams serving.
- Huntington cut the lead to 11-8 on a 3-0 run. Blair Gardiner's serve then fueled a 4-0 run (11-8 to 15-8), and Murry's serve produced a 3-0 run (16-11 to 19-11), including an ace.
- The Foresters made two more 3-0 runs (19-11 to 19-14 and 21-14 to 21-17), but Aiva Kresge's serve powered a closing 3-0 run (22-18 to 25-18).
- IWU blocked six points in the set, and Huntington hit .000.
SET 3 (W, 25-18)
- IWU opened with a 3-0 run (2-3 to 5-3) on Murry's serve. Gardiner then served three points in a 4-0 run (10-8 to 14-8), and Murry served the Wildcats to another 3-0 run (16-10 to 19-10).
- Hollon answered with two aces during a 3-0 Huntington run (19-10 to 19-13), but the Wildcats finished the set with a block by Williams and Breanna Tubergen at 25-18.
SET 4 (W, 25-23)
- IWU started on a 3-0 run (0-1 to 3-1), including a Deshetsky ace, then extended it with a 3-0 run (3-2 to 6-2) on two straight Murry aces.
- Huntington answered with a 6-0 run (7-4 to 7-10), five points of it on Samson's serve, and later led 14-10 after a 3-0 run.
- Gardiner's serve sparked a 4-0 run (10-14 to 14-14), and the set was tied nine times in all.
- Gardiner served again during a 3-0 run (20-20 to 23-20). Huntington got within 24-23, but Williams put away the final kill to seal it, 25-23.
KEY WILDCATS
- Camaya Murry — 32 digs (season high), 3 aces, 6 assists
- Shae Williams — 22 kills, .292 hitting percentage, 22 digs, 7 blocks (2 solo, 5 assists), 1 ace
- Aubree Deshetsky — 17 kills, 16 digs, 2 aces, 2 block assists
- Blair Gardiner — 34 assists, 15 digs, 4 kills (.364 hitting percentage), 2 blocks
- Breanna Tubergen — 6 kills, .357 hitting percentage, 7 block assists
- Morgan Osborn — 12 digs
- Ava Barnes — 3 kills with no errors, 8 assists
LOOKING AHEAD
- Indiana Wesleyan returns home Saturday for a 4 p.m. Crossroads League match against the University of Saint Francis Cougars. The Wildcats won the first meeting 3-1 on Sept. 26.
- Links for live stats and video are available at IWUWildcats.com.
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