NEWARK, Del. - - The Wilmington University volleyball team battled throughout the afternoon but ultimately fell in four sets to Bridgeport in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference action at the WU Athletics Complex.
Prior to the match, the Wildcats honored the careers of Gabby Barth and Christine Covello for Senior Day.
Set scores for the match were 25-15, 25-19, 19-25, and 28-26.
After a slow start in the opening two sets, the Wildcats found their footing in the third, using balanced offense and strong defensive play to extend the match. The Wildcats sued a 6-1 run to take a 13-6 lead and then rattled off five straight for a 19-10 advantage. The Purple Knights tried to close the game, going on a 7-2 run get within 21-17. Back-to-back points gave the Wildcats set point and then Chelsea Blaine-Agett put down a kill to win the set, 25-19.
Wilmington carried that momentum into the fourth, where the set featured 13 ties and six lead changes before the Purple Knights narrowly escaped with the win. The Wildcats scored back-to-back points to earn set point, 24-23, but the Purple Knights answered right back with back-to-back points of their own to take a 25-24 lead. But a kill from Karla Nunez-Rivera and an error by the visitors had the Wildcats are set point against, 26-25. Bridgeport followed with a kill and then recorded a block for match point and came away with the victory after a Wilmington error, 28-26.
Karla Nunez-Rivera led the Wildcats with 17 kills on a .333 hitting percentage, adding 11 digs and one ace for a strong all-around performance. Chelsea Blaine-Agett followed with 13 kills on an efficient .478 attack percentage, while Eliza Schneider and Addison Hoover added 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Hoover also contributed 12 digs and two service aces.
Setter Christine Covello paced the offense with 40 assists and added 10 digs and three block assists. Defensively, Morgan Daniels anchored the back row with a team-high 21 digs, while Gabby Barth added 16.
As a team, Wilmington hit .218 for the match with 59 kills, five service aces, and six total blocks.
With the result, Wilmington moves to 17–12 overall and 10–3 in CACC play, while Bridgeport improves to 8–17 (8–5 CACC). The Wildcats have two games remaining in the regular season and need one win to clinch the South Division Regular Season Title. Next week starts with a trip to Jefferson on Wednesday night.
