LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - - The Wilmington University volleyball team dropped its final nonconference contest of the year on Sunday, falling in a tight contest, 3-0, at Lock Haven inside Thomas Field House.
Set scores for the match were 29-27, 25-18, and 25-23.
After the Bald Eagles scored seven straight to take a 16-15 lead in the first set, the Wildcats answered with a 6-2 spurt to regain a 22-19 lead. A block by Makailah Ford and Christine Covello gave the Wildcats set point, 24-22, but Lock Haven was able to pick up the two points to keep the set alive. A block by Addison Hoover gave the Wildcats set point again at 25-24 and a kill by Cam Justus put the set at 26-25. But the Eagles had an answer each time, and then gained their own set point, 27-26. Another block tied the match, 27-27, but the Eagles answered with back-to-back points, ending the first set with an ace, 29-27.
The Wildcats were down 14-13 in the second set after an ace from Cam Justus. But the Bald Eagles scored five straight to take control of the set, 19-13. The Wildcats were able to get it to within 21-17, but then the Eagles scored back-to-back points twice to take the set, 25-18.
Lock Haven jumped out quickly in the third set, taking leads of 8-4, 12-5, 19-9, and 22-11. But the Wildcats didn't roll over, getting a kill from Eliza Schneider to spark a 10-0 run. A block from Christine Covello and Chelsea Blaine-Agett put the Wildcats to within 22-18, and then kills from Schneider and Blaine-Agett had the Wildcats all the way back to within 22-21. The Eagles gained match point, 24-22, and the Wildcats were able to hold off one, but Lock Haven put the match away with a kill, 25-23.
Karla Nunez-Rivera led the Wildcats with 13 kills and seven digs. Eliza Schneider added eight kills and a block while Chelsea Blaine-Agett finished with six kills while hitting .455. Morgan Daniels and Addison Hoover led the back row with eight digs each. Christine Covello had 15 assists and three blocks while Cam Justus had 14 assists.
The Wildcats have six matches remaining in the regular season, all inside the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. The first match is at Holy Family on Wednesday night with the first serve set for 6:30 p.m. in the Campus Center in Philadelphia.