WILMINGTON, Del. - - With everything on the line, the Wilmington University volleyball team faced two match points and responded with four consecutive points to defeat Goldey-Beacom, 3-2, and claim the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference South Division Regular Season Championship on Saturday inside the Joseph West Jones Center.
Set scores for the match were 25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 20-25, and 16-14.
With the win, the Wildcats win the South Division Regular Season and earn the South Division's No. 1 seed for the upcoming CACC Tournament for the first time since the 2014 season. They are now 18-13 overall and finish the regular season 11-4 in CACC play. They share the CACC South Division title with Holy Family (20-8, 11-4 CACC) but hold the tiebreaker over the Tigers by beating them twice to earn the No. 1 seed for the tournament.
The Wildcats will welcome the North Division No. 4 seed Dominican to the WU Athletics Complex on Tuesday night for the First Round of the CACC Tournament. With the loss, Goldey-Beacom (16-12, 10-5 CACC) is the No. 3 seed in the South and will head to N#2 Bridgeport in the First Round.
The first four sets were evenly matched as expected. The Wildcats scored three of the final four points to win the third set, 25-23, but then Goldey-Beacom turned a 20-19 lead into a 23-19 advantage with three straight points in the fourth. They scored the final two points as well, forcing the fifth set, 25-20.
The Wildcats scored the first two points of the fifth, but the Lightning answered with the next three. Trailing 5-4, the Wildcats went on a 3-0 run, using a Morgan Daniels ace to lead 7-5. They switched courts after a kill from Addison Hoover, leading 8-6.
Goldey-Beacom scored back-to-back point to tie the set, 9-9, and then scored three straight to open a 13-11 lead. Addison Hoover put down a kill to make it 13-12, but then a service error gave Goldey-Beacom match point, 14-12. Makailah Ford kept the match alive with a block and then an attack error tied the set, 14-14. Another block on the outside by Addison Hoover gave the Wildcats match point and then Eliza Schneider stamped the comeback with a match-ending kill.
Karla Nunez-Rivera led the Wildcats with 19 kills while adding four blocks. Chelsea Blaine-Agett put down 13 kills while hitting .367 with five blocks. Eliza Schneider put down 13 kills while hitting .306. Makailah Ford had six kills with an error and led the team with six blocks, three solo. Addison Hoover had a team high 20 digs while Morgan Daniels had 15 and Cam Justus had 10. Christine Covello dished out 27 assists in the win.
Tuesday's CACC Tournament First Round game will begin at 6:00 p.m. at the WU Athletics Complex. Admission will be taken at the door, with $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for students, seniors, and children.