Charlotte, NC - No. 7 Johnson & Wales (12-8) hosted NJCAA D-II powerhouse Catawba Valley Community College on Tuesday night. The undefeated Lady Buccaneers (24-0) were as good as advertised. The Lady Wildcats shook off a slow start, and made it a very competitive match, but ultimately fell in three games.

The two teams battled back and forth early in game one. Catawba Valley then quickly turned a 4-4 tie into a 14-6 lead. The Lady Wildcats had no answer for the CVCC run, as the Lady Bucs would cruise home with a 25-13 game one win.

The Catawba Valley momentum carried over into game two. They jumped out to a ten point advantage at 15-5. The Lady Wildcats answered with an 8-0 run, keyed by the serving of Madelyn Leonard, to get back into the game at 15-11. The Lady Bucs responded to the JWU surge with a 10-5 spurt to take game two, 25-16.

Game three was close throughout as JWU was able to rally on six different occasions to tie the score after CVCC had taken the lead, the last of which was 16-16. The Lady Bucs took control at this point, as they ripped off seven straight points to take a 23-16 lead. They would finish out the game three points later, 25-17.

The Lady Wildcats were led in kills with Moriah Hughes with 10. Kylie Marquardt added 17 assists, while Stephanie Harris tallied 13 digs. Jazmyne Williams and Erika Ross each recorded 2 blocks.

JWU is next in action on Thursday night as they host the Davidson County Community College Storm. Game time is 7pm.