PRESCOTT, Ariz. – The OUAZ women's volleyball team had thoughts of upset in their mind after taking the opening set from No. 19 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University on Wednesday before the national ranked opponent came back for a 3-1 victory.
 
OUAZ kept things interesting all match before falling by scores of 25-14, 20-25, 15-25, 21-25. The loss drops the Spirit to 9-10 overall this season and keeps them winless in three straight matches.
 
The Spirit ended the night with a 48-42 edge in kills, marking the first time this season they have dropped a match when they had more kills than the opposition. OUAZ also hit .178 to the .130 of Embry-Riddle (18-6) while adding a 67-59 advantage in digs.
 
Embry-Riddle was able to create enough separation to win the match by recording 10 service aces and by posting a 7-3 win in blocks.
 
Gianna Kioa led the Spirit with 14 kills and .289 hitting four her fifth double-digit kills match of the season. Kioa also contributed nine digs and a pair of assists. Jorie Mayfield added eight kills with Jessica Youngberg and Rachel Kater posting seven kills apiece.
 
Kater distributed 35 assists to go with two aces and 10 digs. Seleni Bartley had a team high 21 digs to notch her fourth straight match with 10-plus digs.
 
Embry-Riddle got 11 kills from Caylee Robalin and 10 from Erin Clark.
 
The Spirit will now return to California to play a pair of Golden State Athletic Conference matches. They are currently seventh in the conference standings with a 4-7 record. They will open the weekend's competition on Friday at Life Pacific.