BLUEFIELD, West Virginia -- Ferrum College dropped a 3-2 non-conference volleyball match Saturday, October 23, on the road to Bluefield State College, an NCAA Division II program. Set scores were 19-25, 25-14, 25-20, 23-25, 15-12 at Ned Shott Gymnasium.

RECORDS
Bluefield State (8-7)
Ferrum (6-17)

THE BASICS
Ferrum jumped out to an early 7-2 lead and stayed out in front by as many as five points in taking the opening set set 25-19.

The second set was tight at 12-10 Bluefield State, when the Big Blue used a 13-4 run to close out the set. BSC opened 7-1 lead in the third set and never trailed in taking a two sets to one lead.

Ferrum trailed 21-18 in the fourth set, but Sami Kircher's kill off an Arielle Tritt set started a 7-2 run that gave the Panthers the set. Kills by Ariana Beverly and Taylor Joyner and an attack error by Bluefield State closed out the set and sent the non-conference match into a fifth and deciding set.

The Panthers trailed 8-3 in the fifth when Shelby Waltrip's kill started an 8-3 Ferrum run that ended with Joyner's kill and gave Ferrum an 11-9 advantage. Bluefield State scored the next five points to get to 14-11, then held on for the win.

This is the second time Ferrum and Bluefield State have met in volleyball this season. The two teams previously met on October 7, with Ferrum winning 3-1 at home.

KEY STATS
Bluefield State: Kateryna Dashevska 12 kills, 17 digs; Veronica Butler 37 asst, 15 digs;
Ferrum: Joyner 11 kills, 15 digs; Tritt 21 asst, 18 digs; Waltrip 14 asst, 20 digs; Alex Christoff 15 digs

BEHIND THE WHISTLE
"We were able to do some really good things on the floor, but errors were made at inopportune moments in the match. However, we are really still developing out there as a team and I'm excited to see how we learn from this as we prepare for next week." --Head Coach Ruthanne Duffy

UP NEXT
Duffy's team will be back on court Thursday, October 28, at home against Johnson & Wales University. The non-conference affair is set for a 7:00 p.m. start at Swartz Gym, and will be the second match in a home and away series with the Wildcats this season.