MIDWAY, Ky. -- Following a seven-match win streak to open the season, the Midway University women's volleyball team suffered their first loss of the 2021 campaign on Friday night against Oakland City (Ind.) in River States Conference volleyball action.

The Mighty Oaks started fast and grabbed momentum from the onset winning the first two sets by identical scores of 25-23. Midway briefly got back in the match after winning the third set, but Oakland City claimed the fourth set sealing the 3-1 victory (25-23, 25-23, 11-25, 25-23).

With the loss, Jonea Rima's club suffers their first defeat of the season falling to 7-1 overall and 2-1 in River States Conference play. Oakland City, meanwhile, picked up their third win of the season improving to 3-7 overall and 1-2 in league play.

The Eagles did a solid job of limiting the Oakland City offense to just a .077 hitting percentage, but it was a tough outing for the Midway offense as they carded just a .177 hitting percentage with 44 kills in 130 swings.

The visitors did a terrific job of gaining momentum early after winning the opening two sets to take a commanding two sets to none lead. Midway had posted just 21 kills in those two sets compared to 26 from the Mighty Oaks.

Midway got back on track in the third set where they carded 12 kills and a .417 attacking percentage. The Eagles sprinted to a 10-2 lead in the set and never looked back cruising to the 25-11 victory to cut the deficit to 2-1.

The fourth stanza was a back-and-forth contest as Midway trailed early at 15-10, but they rattled off eight consecutive points to take an 18-15 edge. Oakland City battled back and took a 21-20 lead, but a kill from Alysha Tullar (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) and an ace from Evelyn Milburn (Versailles, Ky.) got Midway to a brief 22-21 lead.

The Mighty Oaks, however, closed the set on a 4-1 run en route to claiming the fourth set 25-23 and sealing the 3-1 victory overall.

Tullar led the offensive effort with 12 kills to go with her 11 digs, while Aubry Koester (Apple Valley, Calif.) and Meghan Adams (Hopkinsville, Ky.) added nine and eight kills, respectively. Koester hit .292 in the match, while Adams finished with a .375 hitting clip.

Valerie Ramos (San Juan, Puerto Rico) carded 17 assists and two service aces and Evelyn Milburn chipped in 16 assists and nine digs in a losing effort. Mariana Rodriguez (Houston, Texas) led the defensive effort with 12 digs from the backrow.

The Eagles will look to bounce back on Saturday (Sept. 25) when they host Brescia (Ky.) at noon ET in Marshal Gymnasium.

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