PENSACOLA, Fla. – The 2018 Regis University volleyball season opened up on Friday as the team traveled back to where their season ended last season. No. 7 ranked Regis (0-1) dropped their season opener 3-1 to No. 15 ranked University of West Florida (1-0).
 
How It Happened: The first set went the way of the Argonauts 25-21 with the game tilting back and forth for a majority of the set. The Rangers had a 10-9 lead before UWF went on a 5-0 run to take a 14-10 lead and flip the script. RU closed the gap at 16-17, but the Argonauts rebounded and took the opening set of the season. 
 
Set two saw another back-and-forth contest between the two top-15 teams. The Rangers jumped out to a 6-3 lead as juniors Nikki Kennedy and Kelsey Green combined for a huge block. It seemed as if RU had finally settled in and found their groove, but in the snap of a finger the game was tied at 10. UWF took a 19-15 lead late in the match, but Regis battled back to take a 22-21 advantage. With the teams tied at 24 points apiece, the Argos closed out the set with back-to-back points 26-24. 
 
The Rangers found themselves with their backs against the wall down two sets, heading into the third. The team finally came alive, looking like the team many expected to see on opening weekend. Senior Kristen Hornung smashed five kills while Kennedy, junior Izzy Gosar, and sophomore Caitlyn Burroway each recorded two kills in the 26-24 set three win for RU. 

Regis now had momentum heading into the fourth set which helped them build a 5-1 lead following three-straight kills from Burroway, Green and Hornung. However, UWF countered with three-straight points of their own. The Rangers held onto the lead until an RU ball-handling error put the Argonauts in front 13-12. A service error, followed by an attack error, and two receiving errors by Regis led to a four-point hole for the Blue and Gold, 17-13. The Rangers found a way to tie the match at 17, but UWF pulled away with another seven-point outburst before RU managed to score another point. The No. 15 ranked Argonauts earned the match-winning kill and handed No. 7 Regis the season-opening loss.
 
Game Notes: Hornung led all Regis players with 12 kills and an attack percentage of .550 while also adding four blocks. Kennedy registered nine kills, a team-high five blocks, hitting .375 for the match. Burroway also notched nine kills, recording six digs and one block. Gosar finished with eight kills, four digs, and four blocks. Junior Silvia Basso had 22 assists while senior Gabby Haugh added 19. As a team, the Rangers combined for a .200 attack percentage, committing 19 errors on 140 attack attempts. The team had a combined 46 errors in the game (19 attack, 14 service, nine receiving and four ball-handling). 
 
Up Next for the Rangers: Regis will hope to regroup and refocus for their matchup with No. 24 Wheeling Jesuit University at 3:30 pm MST later today.