Charlotte, NC -- The JWU Volleyball Team battled a little bit of everything tonight -- the opponent, injuries, and even themselves -- as they played Meredith College in the Student Center Thursday evening.  The Wildcats were very inconsistent as made smart plays in some spots and gave away points on unforced errors in others.  The real story of the night was the Wildcats' hitting.  While they tallied 30 kills on the night, they made 31 hitting errors.

The first set was a battle until the score reached the early teens.  Meredith was able to go on a scoring run and pushed points on the Wildcats to take a lead.  JWU scored a few more points to draw closer, but the Avenging Angels closed out the set 19-25.

The Wildcats came out very flat in the second set and could not get in a rhythm.  They committed 8 hitting errors while only getting 6 kills.  Meredith went on to cruise to a finish with a score of 25-12.

The third set began with Wildcat libero Summer Meredith on the bench after sustaining an injury.  (She was a perfect 12-for-12 on serve receive and had 13 digs in the first two games.)  This forced middle hitters Lucy Herrmann and Reanna Bray (who have nagging injuries of their own) to play back row defense as well as front row offense.  Both players as well as the team stepped up big in their teammate's absence to play solid defense.  The Wildcats came together and pulled out a gutsy 27-25 victory in the third game despite their injuries and altered lineup.

The fourth set showed the emotion and energy the third set took from the Wildcats.  They again came out flat and quickly fell behind 12-2.  The rest of the game was fairly even from that point, but the Avenging Angels held onto their lead and closed out the game and the match with a score of 25-13.

The Wildcats were led by Lucy Herrmann with 10 kills and 3 blocks and Reanna Bray with 10 kills and 4 service aces.  Hailey Thrift had 23 assists, 10 digs, and 2 service aces.  The Wildcats finish out the week tomorrow at a tri-match at Wake Technical Community College.  The Wildcats lost a close match to the Eagles and look to avenge that loss tomorrow.  They play Surry Community College first at 4:30 PM and then battle with Wake Tech at 6:00 PM.