YORK, Neb. – The York University volleyball team lost a 3-1 contest to Sterling Wednesday evening in a KCAC clash.

The Panthers are now 11-15 on the season, including 1-4 in KCAC play. Sterling improves to 12-7 on the year and 2-4 in league action.

Head coach Irick Gardner's team was led by Brianna Lemke's superb 21-kill performance while hitting .259. Jassania Joseph accounted for eight kills while hitting .400. Jai Dotson chipped in seven kills while Emma Kerley added five.

Kensey Clifton added a double-double with 26 assists and 12 digs. Meadow Nusbaum also had a double-double with 21 assists to go along with 10 digs.

Defensively, Valentina Jimenez notched 16 digs. Olivia Romero contributed 12 digs. At the net, Ronan Merriex had five total blocks while Dotson and Joseph had three apiece.

The back-and-forth first set saw York take a 22-17 lead on a kill from Dotson. Dotson and Merriex posted points for a 24-22 lead. However, Sterling rattled off the next four points for the 26-24 win.

York trailed 19-16 in the second frame before Lemke found the court for a point. Joseph added a kill to pull within one at 19-18. Joseph's point once again made it a one-point deficit at 22-21, but the visitors managed to score the final three points of the set.

Lemke tied the third set at 18-18 with a kill off a pass from Clifton. York took the lead on a block from Joseph and an attack error for a two-point cushion. Tied at 22-22, Kaylee Weigel notched a kill. Kory Anschutz served up an ace before Kerley finished off the victory with a point off a pass from Nusbaum.

In similar fashion, the fourth set was an extremely close frame. Down 19-18, Lemke knotted the set with a kill. A two-point run provided the Panthers with a 21-20 edge. Lemke's second straight kill extended the advantage to 22-20. The teams traded the next two points. Joseph pushed York to the lead by one, 24-23, with a kill. However, the visitors rattled off the final three points for the 26-24 victory.

For the match, the numbers were virtually even. York held a 53-52 edge in kills and a 53-50 advantage in assists. The Panthers totaled six aces, five solo blocks and 10 block assists. York also had 67 digs in the four-set thriller.

The Panthers return to action Saturday when they host Evangel at 1 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at Yorkpanthers.com.