FLUSHING, N.Y. - - The Wilmington University volleyball team took the host Queens College to five sets, but dropped a pair of matches to nationally ranked No. 1 Lynn and the Knights on Saturday afternoon inside Fitzgerald Gymnasium.
Set scores against No. 1 Lynn were 25-15, 25-19, and 25-19.
Set scores against Queens were 18-25, 27-25, 22-25, 25-23, and 11-15.
Match vs. No. 1 Lynn:
The defending NCAA Division II National Champions used an 8-2 run to take a 19-10 lead in the first set and then another four consecutive points to earn set point, 24-13.
The Fighting Knights jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the second set, but then the Wildcats settled in and fought back. A kill from Chelsea Blaine-Agett started a 5-0 run, allowing the Wildcats to take leads of 9-8 and 10-9. Lynn answered with a 6-0 run of their own to take a 15-10 lead. The Wildcats hung around, scoring five of the next seven points as a Cassidy Miller Kill had the Wildcats to within 18-16. But another 4-0 spurt put Lynn at set point, 24-17.
Three straight points by the Wildcats tied the third set, 7-7, and again at 10-10. But Lynn used a 7-2 run to take a 17-12 advantage. Back-to-back points brought the Wildcats to within 22-17, but the Fighting Knights earned match point, 24-17, before putting the Wildcats away, 25-19.
Eliza Schneider led the Wildcats with nine kills while Karla Nunez-Rivera had seven kills with only one error. Christine Covello had 11 assists and three blocks while Cam Justus added 10 assists. Addison Hoover led the Wildcats with seven digs.
Match vs. Queens:
The Wildcats took a 14-13 lead in the first set against the Knights, but then the hosts went on a 7-1 run to take over the set. They scored the final three points to take the game, 25-18.
The Wildcats led the second set, 14-10, before the Knights started to battle back. A 9-4 run put the Knights ahead, 19-18, and then the teams traded points until the Knights led, 23-21. Back-to-back kills from Karla Nunez-Rivera tied the set, but the Knight has set point, 24-23. A service error gave the Wildcats a chance and Eliza Schneider put the 'Cats in front, 25-24. A kill from Chelsea Blaine-Agett gave them a 26-25 lead and then a Knights' error gave the Wildcats the set, 27-25.
The service of Tyler Nicholas ran off three straight points in the third set, giving the Wildcats a 16-13 lead. A block and two kills put the Wildcats up 21-19, but then the Knights rattled off a pair of 3-0 runs to take the third game, 25-22.
Trailing 15-14 in the fourth set, the Wildcats scored six of the next eight points, grabbing a 20-17 lead after an Eliza Schneider kill. A Karla Nunez-Rivera kill put the Wildcats up, 23-21, but the Knights used a kill and an ace to even the score, 23-23. Nunez-River put down another termination and Chelsea Blaine-Agett picked up a block to send the match into a fifth set, 25-23.
The Knights raced out to an early lead in the fifth, 6-2. The Wildcats climbed back in with three straight points, 9-7, and scored back-to-back points to be down only 12-10. Cassidy Miller put down a kill to bring the Wildcats to within 13-11, but then the Knights had back-to-back kills to send the match, 15-11.
Karla Nunez-Rivera led the Wildcats with 17 kills while Eliza Schneider added 15 with only three errors on 40 attempts. Cam Justus dished out 26 assists with two aces and seven digs. Christine Covello had 21 assists while Gabby Barth led the back row with 31 digs.
Up Next:
The Wildcats travel north once again next weekend, making their way to Colchester, Vermont, to take on Dominican in a nonconference match and St. Michael's on Saturday.