File photo of Allison Briley vs. USciences. Copyright 2015; Wilmington University. All rights reserved.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - - A late match comeback fell short for the Wilmington University volleyball team, as it dropped a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference match at Chestnut Hill, 3-1, on Wednesday night in Sorgenti Arena.
Set scores for the match were 23-25, 24-26, 25-20, and 19-25.
The loss snapped a streak of five straight victories for the Wildcats (8-5, 2-1 CACC), while the loss to the Griffins (3-10, 3-0 CACC) was the first since the teams' first meeting in the 2011 season.
Despite the loss, junior Allison Briley became only the second player in Wilmington's NCAA era to record a "20-20", putting down at least 20 kills and picking up at least 20 digs in a single match. She led the Wildcats with 20 kills and 22 digs, becoming the first Wildcat since the 2005 season to earn such a feat. She joins Kristin Wiedeman as the only players to accomplish the feat since 2004. Wiedeman tallied three such matches in the 2005 season.
The Griffins jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first set before the Wildcats came storming back to take a 17-14 lead. The Griffins scored eight of the next nine points to retake the lead at 22-18, but the Wildcats used three-straight kills and a bad set by the Griffins to tie the set at 22. Back-to-back kills gave the Griffins set point and the Wildcats could only score once more before Chestnut Hill ended the set, 25-23.
The Griffins carried the momentum into the second set, jumping out to leads of 15-5 and 18-8. Down 22-14, the Wildcats scored four consecutive points to claw back into the set, before another three straight forced the Griffins to call a timeout leading 23-21. Following the break, the Wildcats scored twice more to tie the set, 23-23, but the Griffins scored three of the final four points to take a 2-0 lead, 26-24.
The Wildcats were the aggressors in the third set, jumping out to as large as a 12-3 lead. The Wildcats held a 17-9 lead before the Griffins battled back to close the gap to 22-19. A Briley kill ended the run before a Griffin error gave the Wildcats set point. Kaitlin DiGiacinto kept the Wildcats alive two points later, ending the set 25-20 with a kill.
The Wildcats carried the momentum into the fourth set, jumping out to a 9-5 lead but the Griffins scored five straight and six of seven to take an 11-10 lead. After the Wildcats retook the lead, 12-11, the Griffins scored four straight to grab a 15-12 lead. The teams went on the see-saw, getting a kill from DiGiacinto to bring the score to 20-17 in favor of the Griffins. Chestnut Hill rattled off three straight points to take a 23-17 lead, and the Wildcats couldn't only get as close as 23-19 before the Griffins took the set, 25-19, and the match, 3-1.
Alex Siolos was two kills shy of joining Briley in the 20-20 club on Wednesday night, finishing with 18 kills and 22 digs. DiGiacinto added 10 kills while Shelby Henderson added 17 digs. Miranda Shaw dished out 41 assists in the four-set loss.
The Wildcats hit .182 as a team, as compared to the Griffins who hit .213 for the match. Each team collected six total blocks, and each team passed out 55 assists, but the Wildcats committed 26 errors to the Griffins' 18. Chestnut Hill also had eight aces while the Wildcats didn't get any.
The Wildcats remain on the road for two more matches, as they head to Post for another CACC match on Saturday. The first serve is set to begin at 1:00 p.m.