Sept. 5, 2003

ALLENDALE, Mich. - The WSU volleyball team (2-3) fell one match below .500 Friday, Sept. 5 with a 3-1 (30-24, 25-30, 30-24, 30-23) loss against Wheeling Jesuit University (5-0) in the team's first of four matches at the Days Inn Classic hosted by Grand Valley State.

After dropping the first game, WSU trailed 19-9 in the second before a nine-point rally. The Warriors took their first lead of the game at 21-20 off a Toni Purgatori (Yale, Mich./Lake-Sumter C.C.) kill from setter Rebecca Hague (Leamington, Ont.). WSU went on to win the second game 30-25 and held the Cardinals to a .085 hitting percentage.

Wheeling Jesuit won game three and led 13-2 in the fourth game until the Warriors made 15-4 charge to tie the game at 17. Back-and-forth play went in favor of the Cardinals and they won 30-23 to capture the match.

Purgatori led the Warriors with 15 kills and a .312 hitting percentage. Sophomores Megan Smolen (Grosse Ile, Mich.) - 11 kills, 22 digs - and Sei Hee Hwang (Toronto, Ont./Cedarbrae) - 11, 19 - recorded double-doubles.

Wayne State faces Wisconsin-Parkside at 7:00 p.m. tonight.