WHEELING, W.V.- The Slippery Rock University volleyball team suffered two losses on the opening day of the Wheeling Jesuit University/West Liberty University Invitational Friday in Wheeling, West Virginia.

The Rock opened the day with a tightly contested 3-0 (26-24, 25-18, 25-21) loss to Fairmont State University, before taking a 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-18) loss at the hands of No. 6 Wheeling Jesuit University.

With the losses, Slippery Rock drops to 5-5 overall. The team will face UVa-Wise (11 a.m.) and West Liberty University (3 p.m.) Saturday at WLU's Academic Sports and Recreation Complex.

Leah Jones led The Rock on Day One with 17 kills and 17 digs between the two matches.

Match 1: Fairmont State 3, Slippery Rock 0 (26-24, 25-18, 25-21)
Fairmont State jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the first set, but SRU charged back by scoring nine straight points, thanks in part to three aces by Jones midway through the set to take an 18-16 lead. The teams battled back and forth to tie it up six times, but the Falcons closed out the set with three straight points to narrowly win 26-24.

Despite trailing for the first half of the second set, Slippery Rock put together a five-point run to tie it up at 13-13. The Falcons answered with three bursts of three-point runs to pull away from The Rock and take the second set 25-18.

In the final set, the Falcons broke a 4-4 tie with back-to-back aces and two SRU errors. Fairmont State controlled the momentum for the remainder of the set and earned the 25-21 win.

Jones' 11 kills and three aces led The Rock against Fairmont State. Brooke Bostwick had eight kills and three total blocks. Zoe Rivet recorded 17 assists for SRU, while Haley Defibaugh had 14.

Match 2: No. 6 Wheeling Jesuit 3, Slippery Rock 0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-18)
The host Cardinals led from the beginning of the first two sets and had little trouble earning back-to-back 25-18 wins, but in the third set, The Rock put up a good fight and held a narrow 14-13 lead midway through the frame. Wheeling Jesuit went pulled away from The Rock and went on a 12-4 run to close out the set and earn a 25-18 victory.  
  
Jones and Shayla Ray evenly split 12 kills in the loss, while Rivet and Defibaugh each registered 13 assists. Courtney Oberlander had a team-high 12 digs.