Plainview, Texas - College of the Ozarks (17-12) won the opening set but fell 3-1 to Wayland Baptist University (20-11) on Tuesday at Hutcherson Center in Plainview, Texas. The Lady Cats lost by set scores of 27-25, 18-25, 23-25, 17-25.

Emma Godwin served an ace for a 17-12 lead in the first set, and Audrey Riley's kill put the Lady Cats ahead 22-17 before Wayland Baptist rallied. Anna Brunner and McKenna McClure combined for a block to save a set point at 24-23. Facing another at 25-24, the Lady Cats won three straight points: Kalli Noell delivered a kill, Riley added another and Noell teamed with Cora Rutledge for the set-winning block. The Lady Cats recorded 17 kills and hit .208 in the opener.

The Lady Cats built eight-point advantages at 11-3 and 13-5 in the second set, with Riley and Rutledge supplying kills to reach those marks. They still led 14-7 before Wayland Baptist scored nine consecutive points to move ahead 16-14. The hosts closed with four straight points to even the match as the Lady Cats finished the set with five kills and nine attack errors.

After falling behind 6-1 in the third, the Lady Cats used a four-point run featuring consecutive kills by Addison Thurber to narrow a 10-5 deficit to 10-9. They later trailed 23-18 before Riley capped a three-point surge with a kill off Godwin's assist. Brunner's solo block saved a second set point and brought the Lady Cats within 24-23, but a Brinley Watson attack error ended the set.

Faith Klindworth's ace tied the fourth set at 5-5 before Wayland Baptist pulled away. Alaina Baran finished a six-point run with a kill for a 14-7 advantage. Down 18-10, the Lady Cats answered with four straight points, including a solo block and a kill by Brunner, to force a timeout. Another Brunner kill kept the margin at four at 19-15, but Wayland Baptist held its lead and sealed the match on a Thurber attack error.

Brunner led the Lady Cats with 15 kills, a .448 hitting percentage and seven blocks. Riley contributed nine kills, 19 assists and 16 digs, while Kamryn Link totaled 15 assists and a match-high 30 digs. Godwin added 21 digs. Watson finished with six kills, and Noell supplied five kills and four blocks.

The Lady Cats held an 11-3 advantage in team blocks and collected 86 digs, but 31 attack errors limited them to a .071 hitting percentage. Wayland Baptist hit .096 with 50 kills, led by Deniz Yileri's 15 kills and 20 digs. The Lady Cats will look to finish their season strong as they head home to Point Lookout to compete in the NCCAA National Volleyball Tournament, December 2-5! Come cheer them on as they take the court and battle for a national title!