BUCKHANNON, W. Va. - - UVa-Wise dropped its match against West Virginia Wesleyan Saturday morning, 3-2 (25-18, 26-28, 19-25, 25-11, 15-10).

The Cavaliers (3-10, 1-1 MEC) were led in kills by freshman Matelyn Gibson with 14, followed by sophomore Brooke Abbott who posted nine kills and senior Kyra Jessee who notched eight kills in the loss. Sophomore Makayla Ledford tallied 43 assists while junior Morgan Milligan led the team with 22 digs.

West Virginia Wesleyan (2-9, 2-0 MEC) opened the match with a 4-1 run before extending their lead to 15-6. Back-to-back kills by Gibson would pull the Cavs within six points as the Bobcats called a timeout, but West Virginia Wesleyan would get its final kill of the set to take the first, 25-18.

UVa-Wise would go up 12-6 to start the second set, but the Bobcats would come back to get within one point, 21-20. The teams would tie the set at 26-26 before a kill by Abbott followed by a setting error would give the Cavs a 28-26 set two win.

The Cavs would carry their momentum into the third set, going ahead 11-4 early in the set. A kill followed by a service ace by Jessee would put UVa-Wise ahead, 23-17, as the Bobcats would take a timeout. The Cavs would go on to win the set 25-19 to take a 2-1 lead over West Virginia Wesleyan.

The Bobcats claimed a 10-point, 17-7, lead over the Cavs to start the fourth set. Hitting .441 in the set, West Virginia Wesleyan would continue to extend their lead as they claimed a 25-11 set four victory to tie the match at 2-2.

UVa-Wise trailed early in the fifth, 8-5, but the Cavs managed to cut the Bobcats lead to just three points, 12-9. West Virginia Wesleyan would get its final three points to take set five, 15-10, and win the match, 3-2.

The Cavs registered 46 kills and 46 assists with 93 digs in the match while the Bobcats posted 68 kills and 65 assists as well as 111 digs in the win.

Volleyball returns to Wise to take the court against West Virginia State University on Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. inside the Prior Center.