TAMPA, Fla. -- The Wayne State University volleyball team (0-2) began the 2015 season with two matches on Friday at the Tampa Classic. The Warriors dropped the morning contest against fourth-ranked Minnesota-Duluth (1-0), 3-0 before being swept by Tampa (1-0), 3-0. WSU's schedule over the weekend includes four matches against 2014 NCAA Tournament participants.

MATCH ONE VS. #4 MINNESOTA-DULUTH (L, 0-3)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Wayne State scored the opening point of the match on a kill from Christa Raicevich (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) but Minnesota-Duluth controlled the tempo early and led 10-6 after a WSU attack error. A Bulldog attack error trimmed the deficit to 12-11 in favor of UMD. Raicevich tied the set at 15-15 with a service ace to cap a 3-0 run. The match remained tied at 16-16 after a point from Grace Frazee (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Grand Rapids Christian). However, the Warriors would only collect three more points during the opening game as UMD would take a 1-0 match lead with a 25-19 victory.

- In the second set, UMD won the race to 10 after a kill from Sarah Kelly to put the Bulldogs up 10-6. Back-to-back kills from Emily Norscia (Livonia, Mich. / Livonia Churchill) and Mikayla Shell (Croswell, Mich. / Croswell-Lexington) brought WSU within a point at 12-11. The one-point deficit would be as close as WSU would get as UMD cruised to a 25-16 set two victory.

- The Warriors led 6-4 to open the third set, which included a 4-0 run powered by kills from Shell and Hailey Richardson (New Boston, Mich. / Huron). An ace from Frazee put WSU up 9-7 before UMD tied it up on the next two serves to force second-year head coach Tim Koth to take a timeout. Maddison Smith (Melbourne, Australia) tied the set at 12-12 with a kill but the Bulldogs again were able to respond with a 4-0 run to take a 16-12 lead and force another WSU timeout. UMD controlled the final moments of the set and won the game 25-18 and the match 3-0.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Four Warriors made their collegiate debuts during the UMD match. Those four were Maddison Smith, Christa Raicevich, Hailey Richardson and Ellie Rodriguez.
- Mikayla Shell led the offense with eight kills on 12 attacks and just two errors.
- Grace Frazee led the team with 20 total attacks.
- Smith aided the attack with 23 assists in her debut.
- Ellie Rodriguez led the team with 13 digs in her debut.

TEAM NOTES
- As a team, WSU hit .118 on 85 total attacks.
- In the third set, the Warriors hit .217 as opposed to .032 in the first set.

LEADING THE BULLDOGS
- Mariah Scharf led UMD with 12 kills on 27 attacks.
- Ashley Hinsch dished out 31 assists while Erin Schindler collected 11 digs.
- The Bulldogs tallied six total blocks.

MATCH TWO VS. #1 TAMPA (L, 0-3)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- A 7-1 run in the early stages of the first set staked reigning national champion Tampa to an 11-4 advantage. Wayne State responded by taking three of the next five points to trim the deficit to 13-7. WSU took three straight points near the end of the game but the Spartans would take set one comfortably, 25-12.

- The second set started with Tampa leading 4-1 before WSU collected three of the next four points to pull within a point at 5-4 after a kill from Mikayla Shell. Once again, the Spartans showed their quality by extending their lead to 14-6 with a 5-0 run, which capitalized on three Warrior errors. The Green & Gold cut Tampa's lead to 16-11 on a kill from Hannah Moore (Louisville, Ky. / Assumption). Moore collected three more kills down the stretch but the hosts would take a 2-0 match lead with a 25-16 victory.

- A kill from Shell gave WSU a 5-4 lead to begin the third set. The Warriors took a 7-6 lead on a Tampa attack error. Michelle Asiedu (Holland, Ohio / Springfield) tied the set at 11-11 with a kill. The Spartans took the next two points before WSU went on a 3-0 run to take the lead, 14-13. The Green & Gold also led at 15-14, 17-15 and 18-17. The top-ranked Spartans were the first to 20 but WSU knotted the elimination game at 20-20 with a kill from Moore. The set was tied at 22-22 after Tampa took a two-point lead on an attack error and a service ace. The Spartans won the final three points to complete the sweep by posting a 25-22 victory.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Hannah Moore led the Warriors with 15 kills on 39 attacks and hit .282 for the match.
- Maddison Smith was the team's main distributor with 29 assists.
- Ellie Rodriguez led the defense with 10 digs while Emily Norscia collected two of the team's 3.5 blocks.

TEAM NOTES
- Once again, the third set was the Warriors' strongest of the match, hitting .213 on offense.

LEADING THE SPARTANS
- Berkley Whaley posted a 14-kill match on 30 attacks while Logan Holanchock tallied 32 digs. Katrina Milojevic collected six blocks. Gina Clarke dished out 35 assists. Jessica Wagner hit .889 with eight kills.

UP NEXT
WSU will continue competition in the Tampa Classic with two more ranked programs. The first match of the day will be against ninth-ranked Wheeling Jesuit at 10 AM and the event concludes with a match versus #24 Western Washington at 4:45 PM.