The 21^st-ranked Wayne State College volleyball team used a balanced attack to open the 2025 season Thursday evening with a 25-19, 25-14, 25-18 win over Henderson State of Arkansas at the Thrasher Classic in Nashville, Tennessee.
            The opening set saw the Reddies battle with the Wildcats much of the set until a late surge by WSC gave the 'Cats a 25-19 win.
            The two teams traded six ties and five lead changes through the first half of the opening set and the Reddies notched back-to-back service aces to take a 15-12 lead forcing a Wildcat timeout.  With Henderson State still leading 17-15, WSC reeled off four straight points to take the lead for good at 19-17 thanks to kills from Chloe Hanel and Channatee Robles followed by an ace serve from freshman Mattie Kamery and a Henderson attack error.
            After the Reddies cut the lead to 19-18, WSC used kills from Kamery, Molly Romano and Laney Kathol to grab a 22-18 lead and closed the set with a 25-19 win.
            Robles and Kathol each produced five kills in the opening set to pace the Wildcats.
            The 'Cats buckled down defensively in the next two sets, holding Henderson State below a .100 hitting percentage in both sets.
            WSC never trailed in the second set, taking an early 9-4 lead, while cruising to a 25-14 set victory.
            Kamery accounted for five kills to lead WSC in the second set while junior defensive specialist Reese Johnson produced two service aces.  The 'Cats had a .323 hitting percentage with 13 kills and just three errors while holding Henderson State to a .086 hitting percentage with nine kills and six attack errors.
            Wayne State completed the sweep in the third set by slowly pulling away for a 25-18 win.  The 'Cats built an early lead of 11-5 capped by a service ace from Hanel to force a Reddie timeout.  Henderson State got as close as four at 13-9 but WSC reeled off five straight points for an 18-9 advantage and closed with the 25-18 set win.
            Kamery had five kills in the final set for WSC followed by Hanel with four.  Anna Borner and Reese Johnson each recorded six digs as the Wildcat defense forced six more attack errors by Henderson State holding the Reddies to a .027 hitting percentage in the final set.
            WSC finished the match hitting .226 with 44 kills and 16 errors while Henderson State was limited to .092 on 27 kills and 17 errors.  The 'Cats held a 59-55 edge in digs and had one more service ace than the Reddies 6-5.
            Kamery finished with a match-high 12 kills in her collegiate debut for Wayne State to go with eight digs.  Robles had a double-double with 10 kills and 13 digs while Hanel chipped in nine kills.  Kathol had seven kills and just one error on 11 attacks for a stellar .545 hitting percentage.
            Sophomore setter Molly Romano added a double-double with 36 set assists and 13 digs while sophomore libero Anna Borner accounted for 12 digs.  Defensive specialist Reese Johnson was credited with 10 digs and had two service aces for the 'Cats. 
            Wayne State plays two matches on Friday at the Thrasher Classic in Nashville, Tennessee as the Wildcats battle Alabama-Huntsville at 12:15 p.m. and Erskine College (SC) at 7 p.m.