AURORA, Ill. - To say that the 2016 nonconference slate for Truman volleyball has been difficult would be an understatement. Of the Purple and White's 10 matches outside Great Lakes Valley Conference play, eight have come against teams that were either ranked in the AVCA's top 25 (six) or received votes (two). Friday was one of those eight instances as Truman fell to No. 24 Ferris State in straight sets.

Truman dropped to 7-12 overall and had its four-match winning streak snapped while Ferris State improved to 14-5 on the season and has won its last nine in a row. Team leaders for the good guys included Kayla Bastian (seven kills), Meghan Gasper (15 assists), Natalie Brimeyer (two blocks), and Lauren Wacker (15 digs).

The first set was the tightest one as it saw a combined seven ties and two lead changes. Ferris State controlled the action early on, though, as it led by as many as eight (16-8 and 19-11) before head coach Ben Briney called a much-needed timeout to talk things over. The leader's message worked as the Purple and White came out of the breather with a 10-1 run to go up 21-20. During that spurt, Bastian and Claire Viviano were each responsible for three points. However, Ferris State scored five of the final seven points to win the set.

In the second set, Truman's final lead came 11 points in at 6-5, but it would never lead again after that. The Purple and White cut the deficit to one once at 8-7 and Ferris State led by as many as nine (23-14 and 25-16).

For the third set, Truman led 7-5 early on before Ferris State scored the next six points in a row to regain an 11-7 lead. After that, the smallest margin was two points in favor of the Yellow and Red and it led by as many as nine just like in the final score.

Next up, Truman will compete in day two of the Mizuno Midwest Region Volleyball Crossover against the likes of Lake Erie (10 a.m.) and Hillsdale (4 p.m.).