The Culver-Stockton men's volleyball team began Heart of America Athletic Conference play with an exciting but disappointing loss to Health Sciences and Pharmacy (UHSP) at Charles Field House Tuesday night.

The Wildcats won the first set before dropping sets two and three in the middle of the match. UHSP fought off five set points in the fourth set before the Wildcats finally claimed the victory to force a fifth a deciding set. The Eutectics then jumped out in front early in the set and held off the hosts for a 21-25, 25-22, 25-21, 24-26, 15-11 victory.

 UHSP held a 60-49 edge in kills, but the Wildcats were strong at the net defensively, registering 11 team blocks while UHSP had eight team blocks.  The Wildcats totaled five services to the Eutectics' seven, while C-SC had 12 service errors and UHSP recorded 16 service errors.

Individually, Riko Davis had a strong offensive game with 17 kills on 35 attempts. He had four attack errors for a hitting percentage of .371. Cooper Varner added 13 terminations while Henry Reeves and Zach Kowalewicz contributed seven and six kills, respectively. Matt Reese garnered a team-high 41 set assists.

Defensively, Davis led the way at the net with seven block assists, Kowalewicz chipped in with six block assists while Varner had three blocks, including one solo. Cikeng Lee led all back row players with nine digs.

The Wildcats continue their six-match homestand tis Thursday, Feb. 12, against third-ranked Park University at Charles Field House. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.