PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - - Jefferson came out firing on all cylinders on Wednesday night, defeating the Wilmington University volleyball team, 3-0, inside the Gallagher Center to set up a winner-take-all matchup with Goldey-Beacom on Saturday.
Set scores for the match were 25-21, 25-17, and 25-15.
With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 17-13 overall and remain in first place in the CACC South Division with a 10-4 mark. A win on Saturday at Goldey-Beacom in the regular season finale and the Wildcats claim the South Division for the first time since 2014.
The Wildcats struggled to get anything going on Wednesday night, hitting .071 for the match with only 23 kills, and only four total blocks. Jefferson put down 40 kills in the match with 13 aces, hitting .221 overall.
A 3-0 run brought the Wildcats to within 13-12 in the first set, but then the Rams scored six of the next eight points to take a 19-14 lead. The Rams stretched the lead out to 23-17 before the Wildcats tried to get back into set. Karla Nunez-Rivera put down three consecutive kills in part of a 4-0 run to close to within 23-21. But the Rams closed out the set with back-to-back kills, 25-21.
The Rams then started the second set on an 8-0 run, taking a 12-3 advantage before the Wildcats settled in. The Wildcats then closed the gap to 12-7, but the Rams recovered and opened it back up to 20-11. A 5-1 spurt had the Wildcats to within 21-16, but the Rams scored back-to-back points to take a 23-16 lead and then back-to-back points to close the set, 25-17.
The Wildcats used a 3-1 run to get within 11-10 in the third set, but then the Rams scored 12 consecutive points to take a commanding 23-10 advantage. The Wildcats scored five of the next six points, including kills from Addison Hoover and Chelsea Blaine-Agett, as well as an ace from Morgan Daniels, but the Rams finally put down match point, 25-15.
Karla Nunez-Rivera led the Wildcats with eight kills while Cam Justus dished out 12 assists and added eight digs. Morgan Daniels led the back row with 11 digs. Haley Holland, Justus, and Chelsea Blaine-Agett all had two aces each.
Holy Family, Goldey-Beacom, and Wilmington are all tied atop the CACC South Division with a 10-4 record with one game remaining. The winner of the Wilmington/Goldey-Beacom match will win the regular season while a loss, coupled with a Holy Family win against Chestnut Hill, would put the loser on the road in the postseason with a third place finish.
The match at Goldey-Beacom on Saturday is set for a 12:00 p.m. first serve.