Charlotte, NC -- The Johnson & Wales University Volleyball Team played a fantastic match Friday night but came up two points short of a thrilling victory against Wake Technical Community College.  The Wildcats left it all on the floor during this match in front of a packed house of fans dressed in pink cheering for the Wildcats. Individual game scores were 25-22, 21-25, 16-25, 25-23, and 14-16.

The Wildcats, playing without their kill leader, still put on a show offensively and defensively to push the Wake Tech Eagles in every set.  Lucy Herrmann led the Wildcats' offense with 15 kills, and Erika Ross had 10.  Hailey Thrift facilitated the offense with 33 assists.  Summer Meredith led the defense with 20 digs, while Sarah Slaughter had 19, Samantha Johnson had 18, and Jackie Clifford had 10.  The Wildcats played very well as a team and worked hard throughout the match to make some spectacular plays.  

JWU was originally set to play a second game in the tri-match against another opponent, but travel difficulties prevented the team from getting to the student center.  Wake Tech and JWU agreed to play a second time after a short break.  

The emotional weight of losing a close-fought match showed in the second match as JWU could never quite get going against Wake Tech.  The Eagles took the second match in straight sets with scores of 20-25, 14-25, and 12-25.  It was a tough outcome for the Wildcats, who were thrown a curveball of having to face the same opponent again after such a tough defeat.  The Wildcats were led by Lucy Herrmann with 9 kills, and Reanna Bray had 4.  Hailey Thrift had 17 assists, and Summer Meredith had 14 digs.  JWU is now 10-15 after the two losses and is back in action on Saturday in a tri-match with Morris College at 11:30 AM and Livingstone College at 2:30 PM.