FERRUM, Virginia -- Ferrum College hosted a volleyball tri-meet today at Swartz Gym, splitting a pair of matches. The Panthers opened with a 3-1 loss to Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) rival Shenandoah University, then beat Johnson & Wales University 3-2 in non-conference play.

MATCH SCORES
Shenandoah def. Ferrum 25-13, 25-19, 21-25, 25-20
Ferrum def. Johnson & Wales 20-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 15-13

FERRUM vs. SHENANDOAH
Shenandoah controlled the opening set 25-13, but Ferrum fought back in the second before falling 25-19. The Panthers showed grit in taking the third set 25-21, ending the set on a Taylor Joyner kill. The Hornets went on to win the fourth set 25-20, closing it out with two Ferrum attack errors and a Kate Poppo kill.

Julie Warter had 17 kills for the Hornets, while Brooke Wagner had 21 assists and Natalie Reader posted 23 digs. Joyner lef Ferrum with 14 kills and 10 digs, Shelby Waltrip had 17 assists to go with six kills, Kalee Bunn had 12 assists and Sami Kircher had 12 digs.

FERRUM vs. JWU
Johnson & Wales took the first set 25-20, only to see the Panthers bounce back to grab the second set 25-23 with Kircher's service ace the deciding point. The third set was tied 23-23, when JWU's Shalya Pope and Ahmarie Young had a kill each to end the set. Ferrum had no intention of going quietly, quickly taking an early lead, then holding on to square the match at two sets each with Airiana Beverley's kill ending the set. In the fifth set, the two teams played neck and neck until the end, with Ferrum holding on to take the set 15-13 and match.

Joyner had a monster match with 18 kills and 17 digs, Kircher had 14 kills and 12 digs, and Shelby Waltrip's stat line included an impressive 28 assists, 11 kills and 10 digs.

UP NEXT
Coach Shelbylynn Adair's women will be back on court Tuesday, September 27, at home against Roanoke College. The ODAC match is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. at Swartz Gym.