NEWARK, Del. - - In a matchup of Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference division leaders, it was the North Division's Post that defeated the South Division's Wilmington University volleyball team, 3-1, on Saturday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex.
Set scores for the match were 25-18, 20-25, 20-25, and 20-25.
Despite the loss, the Wildcats (16-11, 9-2 CACC) are still on top in the South Division by two games in the loss column, ahead of Holy Family and Goldey-Beacom who are both at 7-4 in the conference. Post remains undefeated in conference play at 10-0, and is now 20-3 overall on the year.
Post jumped out to an early lead in the first set, 7-3, but the Wildcats used a 6-1 run to take a 9-8 lead. An Eliza Schneider kill sparked a 7-0 run for the Wildcats, getting three aces from Addison Hoover to take a 16-10 lead. Post got back into the set with a 5-0 run of their own, 16-15. Back-to-back aces from Haley Holland gave the Wildcats a 20-15 lead and then back-to-back aces from Cam Justus during a 4-0 run ended the game, 25-18.
The Eagles again started fast in the second set, taking a 9-2 lead. The Wildcats got within 10-5, but then the Eagles scored four straight to take a 14-5 lead. A 3-0 run gave the visitors a 19-10 lead and then the Wildcats started to fight back. They got to within 20-15 and then 22-18 with 3-0 runs, but the Eagles gained set point with a block, 24-18. Addison Hoover had a kill, and Morgan Daniels had an ace, but the Eagles tied the match, 1-1, with a 25-20 win.
The third set went back and forth until the Eagles stretched their lead out to 16-12. But Eliza Schneider put down a kill start a 4-0 run to tie the set, 16-16. Now down 21-18, Karla Nunez-Rivera put down back-to-back kills to close to within 21-20, but then the Eagles scored the final four points of the set to win, 25-20, and lead 2-1.
The Eagles jumped out early in again in the fourth set, taking a 7-2 lead. Another 4-0 spurt put the Eagles up 13-7, but then the Wildcats used a 5-0 run to get back into the game, 13-12. A block from Gianna King and Christine Covello brought the Wildcats to within 16-15, but then the Eagles ran off six straight points to gain control, 22-15. The Wildcats tried to get back into the set, scoring four straight to get to within 22-19, but the Eagles put down back-to-back points to gain match point, 24-19. A final kill ended the match, 25-20.
Karla Nunez-Rivera led the Wildcats with 14 kills while Eliza Schneider finished with 13 kills and two blocks. Addison Hoover had seven kills, nine digs, four aces, and three blocks while Chelsea Blaine-Agett had six kills. Morgan Daniels had 22 digs and three aces while Gabby Barth added 13 digs. Christine Covello had 20 assists and two blocks.
The Wildcats have four CACC matches remaining, starting with another home game against Chestnut Hill on Thursday night. The first serve is set for 7:00 p.m. in the WU Athletics Complex.