PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - - The Wilmington University volleyball team secured a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament berth and put some distance between itself and the rest of the South Division on Wednesday night, defeating Holy Family, 3-1, inside the Campus Center.
Set scores for the match were 25-18, 25-22, 17-25, and 25-23.
The Wildcats swept the regular season series against the Tigers and are now three games ahead of the Tigers in the loss column; four games, including the head-to-head tiebreaker if they would end up tied. The Wildcats are now 16-10 overall and 9-1 in CACC play with five matches remaining in the regular season.
On Wednesday, the Wildcats got out to a quick start against the Tigers, taking the first two sets. Leading 11-10 in the first set, the Wildcats used a 6-1 spurt to take a 17-11 lead. A block from Eliza Schneider and Chelsea Blaine-Agett put the Wildcats up 21-15 and then a kill from Karla Nunez-Rivera gave the Wildcats set point, 24-17. Christine Covello then dumped one over for set point, 25-18.
An early 8-3 run put the Wildcats up, 9-4, and then an ace from Cam Justus put the Wildcats ahead, 14-9. The Tigers clawed back and took a 16-14 lead but then the Wildcats used a 7-2 run to gain a 21-18, getting another block from Schneider and Blaine-Agett to force a timeout. The Tigers scored three straight to tie the set, 21-21, but then the Wildcats got back-to-back kills from Blaine-Agett and Nunez-Rivera to take the lead for good. Blaine-Agett then put down a kill and served up an ace to end the game, 25-22.
The Tigers wouldn't go quietly though, taking game three to stay alive. They turned an 8-6 lead into a 15-7 advantage and then scored four more points to take a 21-10 lead. The Wildcats tried to make a late game comeback, clawing to within 21-13, 23-15, and 24-17, before the Tigers won the game, 25-17.
Tied 8-8 in the fourth set, the Wildcats scored three straight to take an 11-8 lead. The Tigers used a 7-2 run to take a 16-14 lead and then another 3-0 spurt to take a 20-19 lead. Chelsea Blaine-Agett put down a kill and then back-to-back aces to give the Wildcats a 22-20 lead but the Tigers answered right back with three straight kills, taking a 23-22 lead. Out of a timeout, Karla Nunez-Rivera put down a kill to spark a 3-0 match-ending run, finishing off the Tigers with another kills, 25-23.
Karla Nunez-Rivera led the Wildcats with 14 kills while Addison Hoover added 11 kills, 16 digs, and three aces. Eliza Schneider had eight kills, four digs, and four blocks. Morgan Daniels led the back row with 17 digs while Chelsea Blaine-Agett had eight kills, four blocks, and four aces. Christine Covello dished out 21 assists.
The Wildcats start the month of November with a match against North Division leading Post on Saturday. The first serve on Saturday is set for 2:00 p.m. in the WU Athletics Complex.