Junior libero Shelby Henderson became the fifth Wilmington University volleyball student-athlete to record over 1000 digs, helping the Wildcats to a 1-1 record on Saturday at the AIC Yellow Jacket Invitational.
Alex Siolos added 23 digs as well for the Wildcats (4-10 overall), finishing with her third triple-double of the season. Siolos had a team high 10 kills as well as 15 assists in the match against AIC.
Siolos followed that up with a performance of 13 kills, 26 assists, and 24 digs to tally her fifth triple-double of her career. It is her fourth triple-double of the season, as she is only the second Wildcat student-athlete to record a triple-double in program history.
For the second time this season, the Wildcats defeated American International, 3-1, but dropped the nightcap to Franklin Pierce, 3-2.
Set scores for the match against AIC were 25-22, 19-25, 25-16, and 25-16.
Set scores for the match against Franklin Pierce were 24-26, 20-25, 25-18, 25-19, and 9-15.
Henderson went over the 1000 career dig mark in the first set against the host Yellow Jackets, finishing with a team high 24 on the match.
The Wildcats outblocked the Yellow Jackets, 9-4, on the match, getting solo blocks from freshmen Angela Collins, Erin Bistany, and Eile Harris. Collins also finished with four block assists while Siolos chipped in with four block assists as well. Bistany and Harris added two block assists in the match.
In the nightcap, the Wildcats held a 24-23 first set advantage before the Ravens scored the final three points of the set to take the game, 26-24.
Back-to-back points by the Wildcats brought the Wildcats to within one, 21-20, in the second set, but the Ravens retaliated with the final four points to grab a 2-0 lead with 25-20 game two victory.
Wilmington jumped out to a 13-4 lead in the third set before a kill from Siolos brought the Wildcats to a 20-11 lead. Kills from Harris and Bistany gave the Wildcats a 24-17 lead before Bistany gave the Wildcats the third set win with a kill, 25-18.
Another early lead in the fourth set, 15-7, allowed the Wildcats to tie the match at 2-2 with a 25-17 fourth set victory.
Two aces and a block from Siolos and Collins gave the Wildcats a 3-0 lead in the fifth set before kills from Allison Briley and Siolos brought the Wildcats to a 5-1 lead. The Ravens battled back to the the game at 7-7 before a Franklin Pierce service error put the Wildcats back in front, 8-7.
But that was the last lead for the Wildcats, as Franklin Pierce scored the next four points to grab an 11-8 lead before scoring the final four points of the set to take the match, 15-9.
Briley led the Wildcats with 16 kills while Bistany and Siolos finished with 13 kills each. Kasey Couch and Siolos tied each other with 26 assists for the match while Henderson led the team with 27 digs. Siolos chipped in 24 digs while Kaitlin DiGiacinto added 21 digs. Couch tallied a double-double with 19 digs while Jess Starr added 11 digs.
The tournament season has come to a conclusion for the Wildcats, as they will now play single matches for the rest of the season. The Wildcats return to the WU Athletics Complex on Wednesday night when they also return to Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference action against USciences. The opening serve is set for 7 p.m.