NEWARK, Del. - - The Wilmington University women's volleyball team fell into early holes in each set, allowing Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference rival Georgian Court to take the match in straight sets on Friday night at the WU Athletics Complex.
Set scores for the match were 30-28, 25-18, and 25-16.
The Wildcats (5-8, 1-2 CACC) committed 25 errors on the night and hit just .074, but it was the early holes they dug themselves into that hurt their cause. They nearly pulled off the large comeback in the first set, however.
The Lions (1-11, 1-2 CACC) came out of the gates and scored the first five points of the match, forcing the Wildcats into an early timeout. The Wildcats scored six of the next nine points to get back to within 8-6, but then the Lions rattled off seven straight to widen the gap to 15-6. A service ace put the visitors ahead, 21-12, before the Wildcats answered.
Jill Braunsberg started a 5-0 run with a kill to get back to within 21-17. The Lions moved ahead, 23-18, but the Wildcats didn't roll over as an Eile Harris kill sparked a 4-0 run to get to within 23-22. The Lions earned set point but a Rebecca Rawlinson kill and a Lion attack error tied the set at 24. The Wildcats got their first set point at 28-27, but the Lions answered with three straight kills to take the first game, 30-28.
The Wildcats again fell behind early in the second set as the Lions came out with a 4-1 lead. A Georgian Court 5-1 spurt put the visitors ahead, 10-5, before another 3-0 rally put them in front, 14-7. The Wildcats attempted another comeback in the second set, as Emma Kongevold put down a swing to claw back to 17-15. But the Lions retaliated once again, answering with runs of 4-1 and 7-2 to regain a 24-17 lead. The Lions' Aubrey Binkley gave the visitors a 2-0 lead with a kill, 25-18.
Georgian Court kept the momentum in their favor in the beginning of the third set, jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead, forcing the Wildcats into another early timeout. Peggy Rosario put the Lions ahead, 11-3, with a kill before the Wildcats answered with a 6-0 run of their own to get to within 11-9. But the Lions countered once again, responding with a 6-0 run of their own to regain a 17-9 lead. Kills from Harris and Deja Stanek sparked runs of 3-0 and 6-3, as Erin Bistany brought the Wildcats to within 20-15 with a kill. It wasn't enough, however, as the Lions scored the next four points to gain match point, 24-15. A service error ended the match for the Wildcats, 24-16.
Braunsberg led the offense with 10 kills, adding 13 assists for the double-double. Miranda Shaw paced the offense with 18 assists while Addalyn Flores led the back row with 22 digs. Brittany Ford chipped in with 10 digs as well. Rawlinson had two solo blocks to go with two block assists while Harris finished with three block assists and a solo block.
The Wildcats have a chance to wipe the loss from their memory, as they get right back onto the court on Saturday afternoon. They head to Caldwell on Saturday for a cross-divisional contest starting at 4:30 p.m.
