CONWAY, ARKANSAS – After winning their first match of the season yesterday against Central Arkansas, the University of the Incarnate Word volleyball team continued play in the Crain Automotive Invitational on Friday afternoon, as they were defeated 3-0: 25-18, 25-15, 25-22 by Louisiana-Monroe.
           
The Cardinals (1-4) started the first set by jumping out to an early 3-1 lead, but the Warhawks of Louisiana-Monroe would tie the set at 4-4 and never look back. The UIW attack struggled with the Warhawk defense although the Cardinals only had five attacking errors in the first set. After taking control through the mid-portion of the set, Louisiana-Monroe would score four out of the final six points to win the first set 25-17. Both Bryaunea Hall (Copperas Cove, TX/ Copperas Cove) and Autumn Lockley (Leander, TX/ Leander) each had three kills for the set to lead UIW.
           
Much like the first set, the Cardinals held an early lead but faltered during the middle stages of the set. At one point in the set, the Warhawks scored seven out of eight points stretching out their lead to 22-14. After a kill from Maddie Slaughter (San Antonio, TX/ Madison) brought the Cardinals to 22-15, Louisiana-Monroe finished the set by scoring the final three points for the 25-15 set victory.
           
The third set of the match was the most competitive for UIW. Both teams went back and forth trading the lead. The set was tied at 21-21, but the Warhawks would go on to score the final four out of five points to win the third set 25-22 and the match 3-0. The Cardinals had seven kills as a team with an attacking percentage of .192.
 
Lockley led the Cardinal attack with nine kills and a hitting percentage of .308. Hall added seven kills and a team high .600 attacking percentage. Madison Williams New Braunfels, TX/ Canyon) had a team high 19 assists and Sarea Alexander (San Antonio, TX/ MacArthur) was credited with four blocks for the match. For Louisiana-Monroe, Hope Pawlik led the team with 10 kills and Kalena Caruthers added nine kills for the Warhawks.
The tournament continues tomorrow with the Cardinals playing against Oral Roberts at 10:00 a.m. and then close out the weekend with a match against Alcorn State at 5:00 p.m.