The Wabash College volleyball team battled Mount St. Joseph University in three close sets before losing its Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League opener 3-0 Friday evening at Chadwick Court.
 
Wabash (2-7, 0-1 MCVL) traded points with MSJ (4-5, 1-0 MCVL) traded points throughout the first set that featured 14 tie scores and six lead changes. The final tie came at25-25 tie before the visiting Lions ran off the final two points of the set to claim the 27-25 victory.
 
The Little Giants jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second set and eventually led 4-1. Mount St. Joseph ran off the next seven points to jump in front. After trading points, Wabash evened the score at 15-15 and moved back in front 19-17.  Once again the Lions moved in front with a 7-0 run on the way to a 25-22 win for the two-set lead. The two teams traded the lead five times and played to tie scores 10 times in the set.
 
The two teams traded early leads in the third set and played to a 4-4 tie before Mount St. Joseph used a 6-1 scoring advantage to move in front for good. The Lions claimed the final set by a score of 25-18 for the 3-0 overall victory.
 
Jackson Leeper recorded a team-best eight kills and a .583 attack percentage for Wabash. He also blocked two shots. Evan Nichols finished with five kills. Will Beikes picked up a team-high 18 assists and six digs.
 
Wabash returns to Chadwick Court for another MCVL contest Sunday at 2 p.m. against Wittenberg. The Tigers defeated Wabash 3-0 in a non-conference match last Sunday.