MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - - The Wilmington University volleyball team opened its 2024 season with a pair of losses in Pucillo Gymnasium, first falling to host Millersville, 3-1, before falling short to Roberts Wesleyan, 3-2, on Friday afternoon.
Set scores for the match against Millersville were 25-22, 14-25, 13-25, and 15-25.
Set scores for the match against Roberts Wesleyan were 16-25, 25-23, 17-25, 27-25, and 8-15.
Match at Millersville
The season started off on the right foot for the Wildcats, winning the first set, 25-22, but then the Marauders powered back from behind to take the make, 3-1.
It was a 9-3 turnaround in the middle of the set that gave the Wildcats the lead, turning a 13-10 deficit into a 19-16 lead. The Marauders eventually tied the set, 22-22, but an Eliza Schneider sparked a 3-0 run to end the set, getting set point from a Haley Holland ace to win, 25-22.
Millersville came out firing in the second, taking a 7-0 start and turning it into a 14-4 lead. The Wildcats got to within 21-12 before the Marauders closed it out, 25-14. A 7-0 run gave the home team a 19-9 lead in the third set, and it was runs of 7-0 and 6-0 in the fourth set to finish off the Wildcats, 3-1.
Karla Nunez-Rivera led the Wildcats in her first collegiate match with 11 kills while adding seven digs, three blocks, and two aces. Newcomer Gabby Barth collected 18 digs while Claudia Melendez finished with 13 assists. The Wildcats had 12 total blocks with Alex Serna leading the way with six. The Wildcats hit .085 as a team in the loss.
Match vs. Roberts Wesleyan
The Wildcats staved off three match points in the fourth set before coming back to win, 27-25 but couldn't carry the momentum into the fifth and deciding set.
The Red Hawks used a 6-0 run to take a 21-19 lead in the second set and still held a 23-21 lead. Kills from Kaiya Medina and Karla Nunez-Rivera gave the Wildcats a 24-23 lead before an Eliza Schneider ace tied the match, 1-1.
Trailing 24-22 in the fourth set, a block from Alex Serna and Nunez-Rivera kept the Wildcats alive before a Schneider kill tied the set, 24-24. After the Red Hawks led 25-24 again, a pair of RWC errors gave the Wildcats the set, 27-25, forcing the game into a fifth set.
The fifth set went back and forth until a 6-1 run by the Red Hawks turned the match around, taking a 12-6 lead. The Wildcats got it back to 12-8, but then RWC scored the final three points to take the set, 15-8, and the match, 3-2.
Freshmen Karla Nunez-Rivera and Eliza Schneider led the Wildcats with 13 kills each while classmate Cam Justus led the team with 22 assists and five aces. Gabby Barth collected 20 digs as well.
UP NEXT:
The Wildcats switch sites by stay in the PSAC East Kickoff Tournament on Saturday, as they head to West Chester to play California (Pa.) and the host Golden Rams. The first serve against the Vulcans is 1:00 p.m.
