BIG RAPIDS, Mich. -- The Wayne State University volleyball program (1-1 Overall) started the 2018 season on Thursday with two matches as part of the Ferris State Invitational.  The Warriors first met Mercyhurst College (0-1 Overall) and won 3-1 before squaring off with the defending national champions and the current top-ranked program in the country, Concordia-St. Paul (2-0).  WSU fell in three sets to the Golden Bears.

MATCH ONE vs. MERCYHURST (W, 3-1 / 25-14, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- A combo block by Grace Frazee (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Grand Rapids Christian) and Taylor Wagner (St. Joseph, Mich. / Lakeshore) gave WSU a 6-5 advantage early in the opening set.  The lead grew to 10-7 following a point from Kamryn Duffield (Romeo, Mich.).  Frazee capped an 8-0 run with a kill to push the Warriors' lead to 15-7.  A block by Madelyn Krenz (Chenoa, Ill. / Prairie Central) and Olivia Fike (North Branch, Mich.) extended the advantage to 20-11.  The momentum stayed with the Green & Gold as two Laker errors ended the set and gave WSU a 25-14 victory.

- Hailey Richardson (New Boston, Mich. /  Huron) staked Wayne State to a 7-6 lead before Mercyhurst led 13-12 after a service ace.  A WSU attacking error gave the Lakers an 18-16 advantage and MC led 21-19 before Wayne State won the final six points to take the second set 25-21.  Fike highlighted the rally with two kills.

- The Warriors led the third set 4-3 after a kill from Fike but trailed 9-5 following a Warriors blocking error.  The Lakers stretched their lead to 15-9 before Julia Malewicz (Macomb, Mich. / Utica Academy for International Studies / Henry Ford II) ended a 5-0 run with a kill, trimming the deficit to 15-14.  The game was tied at 18-18 but the Lakers won the next five points to take a 23-18 lead.  After WSU called timeout, the Warriors won four straight points, including kills from Frazee and Richardson to cut the MC lead to 23-22.  The teams traded the next two points but the Lakers were able to secure a 25-23 set-three victory.

- The fourth set was tied at 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6 before WSU started to regain its rhythm.  Fike delivered a kill to give the Warriors a 14-10 advantage.  The lead grew to 21-13 after a point from Wagner and the Warriors would hold off a late Lakers rally to win 25-19 and the match 3-1.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
- Fike led the way with 15 kills on 19 attempts (.684 hitting percentage), while Richardson tallied 20 digs and 12 kills.  In her collegiate debut, Duffield dished out 46 assists.  Ellie Rodriguez (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Catholic Central) was effective, collecting 15 digs.

TEAM STATS
- As a team, WSU hit .370 and stuffed 10 Mercyhurst attacks.

MATCH TWO vs. #1 CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL (L, 0-3 / 18-25, 12-25, 12-25)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- WSU won the first two points of the opening set after a kill and a service ace from Richardson.  Richardson kept the Warriors close at 9-7 with another point but Concordia-St. Paul would go on a 9-0 run to take an 18-7 lead, forcing Wayne State to burn both of its timeouts.  Poor ball handling by the Golden Bears allowed WSU to cut the deficit to 22-16 but CSP would go on to win 25-18.

-  The Bears controlled much of the second set and led 8-1 early in the game.  The deficit reached 18-9 later in the set.   CSP would win the race to 20 after back-to-back kills gave the Bears a 20-11 advantage and CSP would take a 2-0 match lead with a 25-12 victory.

- CSP led 14-5 to begin the third set and eventually 16-7.  Three straight points by the Warriors made it 18-11 but the Golden Bears would cruise to a 25-12 victory and a 3-0 sweep.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
- Richardson paced the WSU offense with nine kills, while Duffield finished with 15 assists and a team-high nine digs.

UP NEXT
- The Green & Gold will conclude play at the FSU Invitational with two matches on Saturday.  The 9:30 a.m. contest will feature WSU versus Rollins, while the 4:00 p.m. clash pits the Warriors against 17th-ranked Winona State.