Charlotte, NC - No. 7 Johnson & Wales (22-9) learned earlier in the day that they had received a 2nd consecutive bid to the USCAA National Championship Tournament, but there was still business at hand. Louisburg College (8-9) came calling in the final home game of the season, and the Lady Wildcats honored senior Stephanie Harris in a pregame ceremony.

JWU jumped out to an early 8-4 lead in game one, paced by kills from Moriah Hughes and Lucy Herrmann. Louisburg then ran off ten consecutive points to turn that deficit into an 14-8 lead. The Lady Wildcats slowly chipped away, eventually tying the game at 19 before taking a 21-19 lead. Kills by Herrmann, Madelyn Leonard and Reanna Bray helped JWU finish off game one 25-21.

Game two saw the Lady Wildcats jump out to leads on several occasions, only to have the Louisburg respond. JWU creeped ahead late in the game, 22-20. The Lady Hurricanes responded with a 5-0 run to take game two 25-22.

JWU used two kills from Kylie Marquardt to take an 8-7 lead early in game three. Louisburg rallied to tie the score at 10 before the Lady Wildcats went on a 7-1 run to move in front by six at 17-11. Their lead grew to as many as seven at 21-14, before the Lady Hurricanes trimmed the margin to two at 22-20. A Hughes kill put JWU on the brink of winning the game, but Louisburg dug deep, sending the game into extra points, and eventually won it 27-25.

The Lady Wildcats looked like a team with something to prove in game four. They sprinted out to a 10-3 lead in the game, and saw their lead swell to ten at 17-7. Louisburg briefly slowed the JWU momentum, but back-to-back Leonard kills again increased the lead to double digits at 22-12. JWU cruised home to a 25-17 win from there. 

That set up a dramatic game five. The Lady Hurricanes quickly gained the upper hand, scoring the first four points of the game. JWU climbed back into it using a 5-2 run capped off by a Herrmann kill. Louisburg briefly retook a three point lead, but a 4-0 Lady Wildcat run put them on top for the first time in the game. Another Herrmann finish tied the score at 14, but Louisburg was able to come up with the final two points to win the game 16-14, and the match 3-2.

Moriah Hughes led the Lady Wildcats with 20 kills. Kylie Marquardt recorded 23 assists, while Summer Meredith hustled her way to 28 digs. Madelyn Leonard was a force at the net, tallying 5 blocks. 

The Lady Wildcats wrap up the regular season on Saturday as they travel to Raleigh to participate in the Shaw University Tri-Match. They play the host Lady Bears at 11:00am, and face off against Morris College at 1pm. The team will then travel to Canton, NY for the USCAA National Championships beginning on October 31st.