COLORADO SPRINGS (October 16, 2021) - The Nebraska Wesleyan volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on day two of the Colorado College Invitational in Colorado Springs. No. 20 University of California-Santa Cruz defeated NWU, 3-0, in the first match then Cornell College bested the Prairie Wolves, 3-1, in the second match.

Nebraska Wesleyan took an early match lead in the second contest, winning the first set 26-24. In the opening frame, the Prairie Wolves smashed 18 kills and hit .306. Back-to-back kills from Shae Gallery and Lauren Maciejewski gave NWU the needed offensive to win in extra points. 

After the first set, Cornell's defense was able to slow down Nebraska Wesleyan. The Rams held the Prairie Wolves to just 25 kills in the final three sets and not hit better than .200 in any of the three sets. Defensively, NWU forced CC to hit .176 in the second set and just .228 for the match.

In the opening match of the day, UC-Santa Cruz limited Nebraska Wesleyan's attack to hit just .024 for the match. The Banana Slugs landed 39 kills in the match as the Prairie Wolves finished with 20 kills. 

Addie Thomas paced NWU with 21 kills as Erica Hopping dished up 46 assists over the two matches. Four different Prairie Wolves landed two aces in the seven sets. Kennady Klein and Cassidy Plooster combined for 48 digs on the day.

UP NEXT
Nebraska Wesleyan returns to conference play with a road trip to Dubuque, Iowa to play Loras on October 22 and the University of Dubuque on October 23.