Charlotte, NC - The 2nd ranked Wildcats' Volleyball Team had their fifth match against NCAA opposition tonight. Combine that with playing some of the top USCAA D1 teams in the country, and it's easy to see why their schedule is ranked as the toughest in USCAA Division 2. This time it was Ferrum College competing against JWU. It was a closely contested match with the Ferrum Panthers leaving victorious, 3-2.

The Panthers (7-5) started the match out with a 25-23 win in the first set before JWU leveled the match in Set 2, 25-21. Ferrum again pulled ahead in the third, 25-22, before the Wildcats (10-6) roared back with a strong 25-15 showing in the fourth set. It all came down to the fifth set, and Johnson & Wales couldn't quite pull it off as Ferrum took the fifth set, 15-13.

Head Coach Callie Phillips on the match: "Matches to 5 sets are always anybody's game.  Our team did a lot of things right, and we had some players really step up tonight.  We play the toughest schedule in the USCAA Division 2 for a reason.  We will be battle-tested at the end of this season and know who we are as a team.  I'm proud of our effort tonight and we'll learn from this experience."

Taylor Walker paced the Wildcats with 14 kills while Moana Reid led the team with 40 assists. Kendall Watson set the bar for digs with 34 followed by Reid (22), Toniya Scott (19), Lynasia Felder (16), and Halle Franklin (10).

JWU will travel to Columbia International this Saturday, Oct. 29, for a tri-match with Morris (1:00 pm) and CIU (3:00 pm).