Copyright 2015; Wilmington University. All rights reserved. File photo by Frank Stallworth.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - - A diverse offense led the Wilmington University volleyball team to a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference sweep at Holy Family, 3-0, on Tuesday night at the Campus Center.
Set scores for the match were 29-27, 25-21, and 25-17.
The Wildcats (10-5, 4-1 CACC) did not have a student-athlete reach double digit kills, but had Kaitlin DiGiacinto and Allison Briley finish with nine kills each while Alex Siolos added eight kills. The team hit .158 for the match, putting down 34 kills with only 13 errors on 133 attempts.
The Wildcats saved the best for last, hitting .289 in the third set, putting down 13 kills with only two errors on 38 swings.
Wilmington needed to bounce back early in the first set as the Tigers (2-13, 1-4 CACC) led 15-9 before the Wildcats made their comeback. The Wildcats took the next two points before scoring four straight to close to within 16-15, forcing the Tigers into a timeout. Another four straight points put the Wildcats on top 19-18 but the Tigers responded to retake a 21-19 advantage.
Facing set point, 24-23, the Wildcats picked up a block from Eile Harris and DiGiacinto to keep the set alive. Again down to set point, 25-24, Briley came up with back-to-back kills to put the Wildcats in front, 26-25. Now tied, 27-27, the Wildcats moved ahead with a Tigers' error before Siolos ended the set, 29-27, with a kill.
Holy Family jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the second set before the Wildcats battled back, scoring eight of the next 10 points to take a 10-7 lead. Again trailing 17-14, the Wildcats came out of a timeout and scored four consecutive points to take an 18-17 lead. Tied 19-19, the Wildcats got kills from Briley, DiGiacinto, and Megan Ward in a string of four straight to take a 23-19 lead. A Tiger service error gave the Wildcats set point before DiGiacinto put the set away, 25-21, with a kill.
Wilmington took control of the third set quickly, taking leads of 16-11 and 20-12. A block by Ward and Siolos put the Wildcats up 22-15 before a dump back-to-back point by Miranda Shaw and DiGiacinto gave the visitors set and match point. Siolos finished off the Tigers with her final kill of the match, 25-17.
Shelby Henderson led the defense with a match high 23 digs while Siolos added 16. DiGiacinto contributed 15 digs while Shaw and Briley chipped in with 11 digs each. Shaw passed out 26 assists while Eile Harris led with three block assists. Ward and Siolos collected one solo block and two block assists each as well.
Following a three-match road trip, the Wildcats return home on Thursday, looking to extend their winning streak to three straight matches. The Wildcats return to the WU Athletics Complex to face Georgian Court in a CACC South Division matchup starting at 7:00 p.m.