BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - - The block came alive for the Wilmington University volleyball team on Saturday, stifling Bloomsburg in a 3-1 nonconference victory inside Nelson Field House.
Set scores for the match were 15-25, 25-19, 25-18, and 25-19.
The Wildcats post double digit total blocks for the sixth time this year with 12, but it was the first time in five matches in collecting more than 10. The Wildcats also hit .295 for the match, the third best hitting percentage on the season. They only committed 11 errors on 132 attempts, the third fewest errors on the year.
The Huskies (7-14) jumped out to a 13-8 lead in the first set before the Wildcats used a 3-0 run to climb to within 13-11. But the Huskies continued to push, using another 4-0 run to take a 20-13 lead. They scored five of the last six, including the final three, to take the first game, 25-15.
The Wildcats turned things around from there, taking the final three games. A 4-0 run gave the Wildcats a 12-6 lead and then another 3-0 run put the Wildcats up, 20-14. The Huskies closed the gap to as close as 22-19, but then the Wildcats got kills from Eliza Schneider and Chelsea Blaine-Agett and an ace from Haley Holland to close out the game, 25-19.
The Huskies took a brief 11-10 lead in the third set, but then the Wildcats used multiple mini scoring runs culminating in an 11-4 run to take a 21-15 lead. Kills from Schneider and Gianna King made it 23-16 and then a kill from Blaine-Agett gave the Wildcats set point. A Bloomsburg error gave the Wildcats a 2-1 match lead.
The fourth set went back and forth and tied at 7-7 before the Wildcats took over. They used a 6-0 run to take the lead for good, getting another Holland ace to take a 13-7 lead. Karla Nunez-Rivera gave the Wildcats a 16-11 lead but then the Huskies battled back, closing the gap to as close as 19-17. Back-to-back kills from Eliza Schneider have the Wildcats 21 points and then a kill from Blaine-Agett and an ace from Holland put the Wildcats up, 23-18. Schneider gave the Wildcats match point and then one final block ended the match, 25-19.
Eliza Schneider finished with a match high 19 kills while hitting .349. Karla Nunez-Rivera added 12 kills while hitting .333 and Chelsea Blaine-Agett finished with 10 kills while hitting .381. Makailah Ford led the front line with six blocks, one solo, while Nunez-Rivera and Gianna King each had four total blocks. Christine Covello dished out 21 assists while adding two solo and three total blocks. Haley Holland had four aces on the day while Morgan Daniels led the back row with 14 digs.
The Wildcats turn around and head to another PSAC opponent on Sunday, heading to Lock Haven. The first serve is set for 1:00 p.m. in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania.