The Bobcats finished off their opening weekend with a 3-0 loss at home on Saturday at 7 p.m. against the nationally-ranked Northern Iowa Panthers.
The weekend record culminated at 1-2 against two top-tier volleyball programs, including the Panthers and the University of Southern California, who were ranked 14th in the nation last season.
In the first set, the Bobcats narrowly lost a nail-biter 25-23 before making some noticeable improvements in the second set despite losing 25-19. The final set was a more decisive 25-13 loss.
The Bobcats never found their footing offensively and no athletes were able to go double digits in kills. Sophomore Kenedi Rutherford finished with 5 kills while Cheyenne Huskey, Tessa Marshall, Jillian Slaughter and Caitlan Buettner had 4 apiece.
Sophomore Emily Dewalt led the Bobcats in 20 assists while junior Brooke Johnson followed suit with 7.
Senior Micah Dinwiddie paced the team with 14 digs while freshman Courtney Heiser logged 10.
Next up, the Bobcats (1-2) will be facing the undefeated Rice Owls (2-0) for the first time since defeating the Owls in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Tuesday, Sept. 13 at Strahan Arena.