LIBERTY. Mo. - The William Jewell volleyball team got off to a hot start on Friday but could not maintain the momentum, falling 3-1 to McKendree University. The Cardinals drop to 4-8 on the season and 0-1 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Cardinals jumped out to an early 11-5 lead behind three kills each from Bella LaPorta and Katy Garrison. McKendree pulled within two midway through but an Alexis Nunn ace pushed the advantage back to five. Garrison got two more kills late to seal the set for Jewell, 25-22. 
• The Bearcats flipped the script in set two, grabbing a 17-5 lead, aided by seven Jewell errors. The Cardinals put together a quick 6-1 run the McKendree won four of the final five points to knot the match.
• After Jewell grabbed the early lead in set three, the teams traded points until the Bearcats used a 7-0 run to jump out in front and never looked back, winning 25-15. 
• With the visitors holding a 20-8 lead in set four, the Cardinals tried to mount a comeback with an 11-4 run to pull within five but a kill from McKendree's Colleen Preusser ended the match. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Garrison and LaPorta each finished with a team high nine kills with the latter also having 12 digs and three aces. 
• Samantha Thompson had 18 assists, 11 digs, and three aces while Caroline Beckmann finished with three blocks.
• Nunn had a game-high 21 digs. 
• After hitting .342 in the opening set, the Cardinals struggled to find an offensive rhythm finishing with a .029 attack percentage as a team. 

UP NEXT
Jewell returns to action on Saturday with a tough test as they welcome No. 5 ranked Missouri-St. Louis to the Mabee Center at 4 p.m.