BOX SCORE: GM 1 | GM 2
 
PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of West Florida women's volleyball team faced some strong competition on Friday in its first pair of games of the 2016 season, and would go on to defeat Findlay, 3-1, before fighting to the very end against a tough No. 9-nationally ranked Central Missouri squad before dropping the contest 3-2.
 
Game 1: UWF 3, Findlay 1
 
After facing a 19-13 deficit in the first set, the Argonauts rallied off six consecutive points to knot the score at 19-19. Although early in the match for UWF, it proved to be a key rally as the Argonauts used a 29-27 victory in the first set to propel to a 3-1 victory in its opening match of the 2016 season.
 
Findlay (0-3) snagged a close second set, 25-23, before UWF was able to take a key third set 25-21. West Florida utilized the same 25-21 score in the fourth set to clinch the victory. Neblett led all players in the match with at least 20 attack attempts with a .400 attack percentage.
 
Katy Kuhlmeier led the way offensively for UWF, posting a team-high 12 kills in the victory. Corisha Smith and Rachel Neblett tallied 11 and 10 kills respectively.
 
Monique StCyr quarterbacked the offense with 45 assists, while Tori Martella set the tone on defense with a match-high 21 digs. Cora Bidlack and Neblett helped win the battle at the net, each recording five blocks in the match.
 
Smith's high-speed serves proved to give the Oilers headaches, as the senior posted three aces.
 
UWF utilized a .246 attack percentage and minimized Findlay's attack to a .224 success rate. The teams were nearly identical in errors, as West Florida posted 22 mishaps in comparison to Findlay's 21.
 
Game 2: Central Missouri 3, UWF 2
 
Central Missouri (3-0) jumped out to a 2-0 lead after winning the first pair of sets 25-20 and 25-21, respectively. The deficit sparked a sense of urgency for the Argonauts (1-1), as UWF captured the third set 25-20 and the fourth set 25-22.
 
UCM showed its muscle in the fifth set, recording 12 kills on 23 attempts for an eye-popping .478 attack percentage. West Florida was limited in the fifth set to five kills on 21 attempts as the Jennies would take the deciding set, 15-8.
 
Tori Martella wasted no time making her mark on the 2016 season, as the senior tallied a career-high 35 digs in the contest. The 35 digs is second most ever in a single match in program history, and the most since Autumn Duyn posted 37 in 2012.
 
Kathryn Torre set the tone offensively with a career-high 19 kills with a .410 attack percentage. Brogan Wallen and Monique StCyr split time at the setter position, with the duo recording 24 and 22 assists, respectively.
 
Rachel Neblett added 10 kills in the match, while Kourtney Pittaway and Holly Mattmuller each contributed 13 and 11 digs, respectively. Pittaway added seven kills on 22 attempts for a .318 attack percentage.
 
The Argonauts play another two games tomorrow afternoon, battling Carson-Newman at 4:00 p.m. and defending NCAA Division II National Champion and No. 2 –nationally ranked Wheeling Jesuit at 6:00 p.m. The UWF-WJU match will be aired on ESPN 3.