NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – The University of Incarnate Word volleyball team finished up the Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Classic with a five-set loss to North Carolina State on Saturday afternoon at Devlin Fieldhouse 18-25, 16-25, 25-14, 28-26, 15-12.

The Cardinals (2-7) started out the first set very strong and jumped on the Wolf Packpack early. UIW scored the first three points of the set on errors by NC State to take an early advantage. The Wolfpack would recover after the slow start and tie the match at 10-10 after a kill by Ramsey Perry. After the Wolfpack tied the match, the Cardinals went on a run and stretched the lead to 21-14 after a kill by Sarea Alexander (San Antonio/MacArthur HS).  Bryaunea Hall (Copperas Cove/Copperas Cove HS) finished the set for the Cardinals with two kills to lead the team to the 25-18 set victory.

After the first set victory, the Cardinals were able to keep the momentum going in the second set. UIW started the set with a 9-3 run which set the tone.  The Cardinals stretched the lead to 23-13 after a kill by Alexa Lezak (Lake Jackson/Brazoswood HS). Alexander gave the Cardinals the set win with a kill to make the second set score 25-16, and gave UIW a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set was a different story for the Cardinals as the Wolfpack responded to the early set losses.  NC State jumped out to an early lead and UIW was not able to rally from the early deficit.

After the third set loss, the Cardinals came out focused for the fourth set. They started the set strong and jumped out to a 14-8 lead. The Wolfpack went on a run to cut the lead to 16-13. The Cardinals held a 24-22 advantage, but the Wolfpack would come back and win the set 28-26.

In the final set, NC State continued their momentum from the fourth set and they won the fifth set 15-12 and the match 3-2.

For the match, the Cardinals had three players with double-digit kills. Madison Williams (New Braunfels/Canyon HS) led the team with 12 kills and a .529 attack percentage.  Autumn Lockley (Leander/Leander HS) and Hall both had 11 kills each. Kaitlyn Brooks (Sugar Land/Fort Bend Austin HS) led the Cardinals with 30 assists in the match.

UIW will continue their season on September 26 when they travel to Conway, AR to take on Central Arkansas for the Southland Conference opener.
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