No. 21 ranked Wayne State used 10 kills from senior Erin Gross while forcing 24 Mary attack errors as the Wildcats recorded a 25-20, 25-19 and 25-17 sweep of University of Mary in NSIC action Friday at Bismarck, N.D.
Wayne State rallied late to take the first set. The Wildcats trailed early 10-4 and later by an 18-15 count, but scored six straight points highlighted by back-to-back kills from sophomore Katie Stephens to take the lead for good at 21-18. Stephens and Erin Gross paced Wayne State in the first set with four kills apiece.
The second set was close again early with seven ties and three lead changes. With the score tied at 17-17, the Wildcats scored three straight points to grab the lead at 20-17. The Wildcats closed the set strong with a service ace from Stephens along with kills from Tarrin Beller and Gross, who led Wayne State with five kills on just seven attacks while Megan Gebhardt had two service aces.
The third set saw the Wildcats force 11 attack errors on Mary that included eight blocks as Wayne State finished the three-game sweep. Alyssa Ballenger led the Wildcats in kills with four.
Gross led Wayne State in kills with 10 while posting a .300 attack percentage. Ballenger added seven kills with Stephens accounting for six. Stephens, Jaci Brahmer and Beller each recorded five blocks. Maddie Duffy and Gebhardt each had two service aces while Gebhardt handed out 30 set assists. Stephens also led the Wildcats with eight digs followed by Haley Kauth and Duffy with seven each.
Wayne State (11-6, 5-3 NSIC) will visit Minot State Saturday afternoon for a 1 p.m. NSIC contest.
