The Wolves battle first-place SFU and fall in four rounds on the road

BURNABY, BC — The Western Oregon volleyball team lost its road game against first-place Simon Fraser 3-1 (18-25, 25-20, 25-12, 26-24) at West Gym on Saturday.

The Wolves (13-9 overall, 5-8 GNAC) started trailing early against the Red Leafs (15-4, 11-1) before a Madison Hornback Ace helped WOU go on a 9-1 run, allowing WOU to take the lead and later the set. In the second set, WOU fought hard, never trailing by more than five, but lost the set. WOU also lost the third set before back-to-back aces Samantha Darby at the start of the fourth set gave the Wolves an early lead in the fourth set. Western Oregon fought hard to hold on to the lead – despite having a set point – but a late SFU run allowed the Red Leafs to win the set and the match.

Maela Honma finished with a team-high 13 kills, two aces and 20 digs. Chloe Asciutto finished with seven kills and five blocks, while Hornback had six kills, two blocks and 16 digs. Bailee Hartsook had nine kills and a .381 hitting percentage (one error, 21 attempts). Aneli Godinez-Martinez had three aces, while Darby finished with 24 assists and five aces, a career-best.

The Wolves return home against Saint Martin's on Thursday at 7 p.m., beginning with three home games – their final three home games of the season.