York, Neb. – The Friends University Falcons came up on the short end of three close sets today in a 3-0 loss at the York University Panthers today (Oct. 3) in York, Neb.
The Falcons lost the first and third sets 26-24, starting with saving two set points down 24-22 before kills by Madilyn De La Garza and Ambar Ortiz closed the opening set out for the Panthers.
A kill by Gabbie Taylor put the Falcons on top 19-16 in the second set, but the Panthers rattled off five straight points to lead 21-19 and went on to a 25-22 win to jump ahead 2-0 in the match.
Friends then trailed the third set 16-9 but charged back with a 12-2 spurt to lead 21-18 behind a service ace and a kill by Lynzee Neal and a pair of service aces from Taylor.
Still leading 24-22 following a kill by Taylor, the Panthers scored two consecutive points to pull even and then got two straight service aces by Jassania Joseph to finish out the match.
Taylor led the Falcons (8-11, 0-3 KCAC) both offensively and defensively with 11 kills and 14 digs. Neal had a team-high 16 assists and Alyson Sparman recorded 10 digs.
Joseph paced the Panthers (7-11, 1-3 KCAC) with 10 kills and Meadow Nusbaum led the team with 21 assists. Ortiz produced a team-leading 13 digs for York.
The Falcons will next return home and host Oklahoma Wesleyan University Wednesday night (Oct. 7) at 7 pm inside the Garvey Center.
