The Wilmington University volleyball team closed out the 2014 regular season with a 3-0 victory over Nyack on Saturday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex, claiming a share of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference South Division crown for the third year in a row.
Set scores for the match were 25-15, 25-13, and 25-13.
Prior to the match the Wildcats (19-13, 15-4 CACC) honored its lone senior Kasey Couch, a four-year staple of the Wilmington program.
Saturday featured a widespread offensive attack for the Wildcats, as four different players finished with a team high seven kills each. As a team, the Wildcats hit .252 for the match, putting down 36 kills with only seven errors on 115 attempts. The defense held the Warriors (2-31, 2-16 CACC) to a .000 attack percentage.
The Wildcats jumped out to a fast 8-1 lead in the first set before the Warriors fought back. Now leading 14-10, the Wildcats ran off four straight points and seven of the next eight points overall to go ahead 21-11. Kaitlin DiGiacinto put the set away with a kill, 25-15.
Another fast start gave the Wildcats a 10-4 lead early in the second set before a string of six straight points pushed the Wildcats lead to 16-5. The Wildcats scored five of the final seven points in the set to close the game, as DiGiacinto put the team ahead, 2-0, with a kill at 25-13.
Four straight points early in the third set gave the Wildcats a 5-2 lead before another string of three straight put the Wildcats ahead 8-3. Leading 11-7, DiGiacinto started a run of four straight points to put the Wildcats up 15-7. An Eile Harris kills began a 6-0 run for the Wildcats to take control of the game, 21-9. The teams traded points before a Hannah McQueen kill gave the Wildcats the set, 25-13, and the match, 3-0.
Erin Bistany, Allison Briley, Alex Siolos, and Kaitlin DiGiacinto all led the Wildcats with seven kills each while Harris finished with five terminations. Couch and Siolos each led the team with 15 assists each while Shelby Henderson and DiGiacinto finished with a team high 14 digs each. Siolos added 10 digs for the double-double.
Bistany upped her team leadin 0.98 blocks per set with five more on Saturday, getting a hand on five block assists. Angela Colllins, Harris, and Siolos had a hand on three block assists each while Briley added a pair of block assists as well.
With the win, along with a victory by Georgian Court, the two teams earned a share of the CACC South Division Regular Season Championship. Since the Lions defeated the Wildcats in both meetings this season, the Lions earn the top seed for the South Division in the upcoming CACC Tournament. The Wildcats will be the South Division's No. 2 seed.
The Wildcats host a CACC Tournament Quarterfinal match on Tuesday and will square off against the North Division No. 3 seed in Dominican. The first service is scheduled for 7 p.m.
