Manhattan, Kan. �€" Ori Zuzic's 17 kills were not enough to help ORU overcome the
strong front line play of host Kansas State, as the 14th-ranked Wildcats handed
the Golden Eagles a 3-0 (30-28, 30-23, 30-21) loss in the season opener for both
teams here Wednesday evening.

ORU (0-1), the pre-season favorites to win the Mid-Continent Conference title for
the seventh time in eight seasons, used a 9-0 run midway through game one to
take a 22-13 advantage. Zuzic, a 6-2 sophomore hitter from Porec, Croatia, had
three of her team-leading kill total in that span.

However, Kansas State (1-0), the defending Big 12 Champions, rallied back to tie
the game at 24-24 and took the lead for good at 27-26 on one of Michelle
Franklin's eight kills in the match. Sandy Werner finished the match with a team-
high 10 kills for the Wildcats.

The Wilcats, who posted 13.0 blocks against ORU, breezed through the next two
games to clinch the victory, hitting .350 as a team in game two and .294 as a
team in the finale. Meanwhile, ORU hit .222 in game two and .103 in game
three.

ORU returns to action this Friday when the Golden Eagles host a two-day, four-
team tournament at the Cooper Aerobics Center. Loyola-Chicago takes on Kansas
at 5 p.m. Friday, followed by ORU's home opener against North Texas at 7:30
p.m. The round-robin tournament format will continue with four matches on
Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m.

-ORU-