MISHAWAKA, Ind. — The Pilots (10-6, 1-3) had a great first set but fell behind the NAIA 7th-ranked Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats (11-2, 4-0) in the 3-1 loss on Saturday.
The Pilots fought at the net with Maddy Payne ending the night with five blocks and Breyana Bosket had four. Paige Franz and Reanna Brown rounded out the defensive effort with 16 and 11 digs respectively.
The first set was won by the Pilots 25-21 and was down to the wire up until 21-20 when the Pilots went on a 5-1 tear started by Payne.
The Wildcats took off to a 7-1 lead in the second and maintained a healthy four-point advantage throughout the set where Gracen Norris kept the Pilots alive with a kill to get to 24-19, but IWU’s Eva Joldersma put the set point away and took the set 25-19.
The Pilots rallied to nearly tie the third set 9-8 from Bosket’s kill and an IWU attack error tied the set 9-9. The Wildcats rallied with a 6-2 run and continued to ride to a 25-12 set win, then the Pilots struggled to climb from a deficit in the fourth and sealed the match 3-1 for the Wildcats.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Pilots host the Goshen Maple Leafs for the first meeting in the 2024 season on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. in the Gates Gymnasium.