Oakwood University came out swinging Saturday night in its Gulf Coast Athletic Conference home opener, but Wiley College didn't back down and when it was over, the Wildcats emerged with a 3-2 win over the Ambassadors at Ashby Auditorium.

Oakwood fell 19-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-18 and 13-15.

The loss, the Ambassadors' third straight after a 2-0 start, dropped Oakwood to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in league play. The Wildcats snapped their four-game losing streak and improved to 2-9 and 2-3.

Freshman Mona Okello (Overland Park, KS) came up one kill short of her first career double-double for Oakwood. She finished with nine kills and 14 digs. Anna Jones (Attalla, AL) had 10 kills and seven digs, Kaayla Butler (Seattle, WA) had six kills and Trinity Williams (Midlothian, TX) had five kills and seven digs.

Cameryn Bucknor (Huntsville, AL) had 31 assists and 18 digs, while Shaniya Brown (Dallas, TX) had 18 digs.

Shayla Arthur and Johna Davis led Wiley College with 15 and 14 kills, respectively. Shyla Starks and Zykeya Hunt finished with eight apiece. T;aja Hardy finished with 22 digs, while Fatima Ortega had 15, LeAndria Jackson 14 and Kyra Woods 11.

Oakwood hosts defending GCAC champion Philander Smith today at 1 p.m.

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