Box Score Box Score Wayne State 3 Westminster (Utah) 0

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A balanced attack led the Wildcats to a sweep over Westminster early Friday morning as they opened the season with a 3-0 victory in the first of four games in the Embry-Riddle Tournament.
        Scores in the match in favor of Wayne State were 25-18, 25-23, 25-22. It was Wayne State's first sweep in a season-opener since defeating Northwood (Mich.) in 2015. The Wildcats have won their last seven season-openers and are 13-1 in season-openers under the guidance of head coach Scott Kneifl.
        The Wildcats entered a stalemate with the Griffins to start the first, going back and forth. Down 9-10, Wayne State rattled off six straight points to establish a 15-10 lead. Kills from sophomores Alyssa Ballenger and Allison Timmermans as well as forced errors helped keep distance as the Wildcats forced a timeout by Westminster up 19-14. Wayne State finished the rest of the first set at a 6-4 mark, giving the Wildcats a 25-18 win going into the second set.
        The second set started as the first did, with both teams feeling each other out while trading blows with each other to a 10-10 mark. Back-to-back kills from Jaci Brahmer and Tarrin Beller sparked an 8-2 Wildcat run before the Griffins responded with three straight points of their own to force Wayne State into a timeout leading 18-15. Westminster came out of the timeout where they left off, tying the game at 18 before Wayne State could stop the bleeding. Neither team were able to extend the lead past one point, until a 3-0 Wildcat spurt from a Griffin service error and kills from Megan Gebhardt and Beller settled the second match 25-23, with Wayne State taking a 2-0 lead into the intermission.
        Wayne State came out the gates firing on all cylinders in the third, taking an early 8-3 lead and never looking back. The Wildcats held a lead of as much as nine before a late comeback effort from Westminster fell short, as Wayne State fended off the Griffins to a 25-22 third set, giving the Cats a 3-0 win in their 2018 season-opener.
        Beller led the Wildcats with a game-high 12 kills while recording three blocks. Ballenger contributed nine kills of her own. Gebhardt's 29 assists were a game-high, while junior libero Haley Kauth and junior Katie Stephens steadied the defense with 12 and 10 digs respectively.
        Wayne State is back in action Friday afternoon as they take on Lynn (Fla.) at approximately 4 p.m.