PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - - The Wilmington University served its way to a sweep of the University of the Sciences on Tuesday night, earning the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference victory, 3-0, at Bobby Morgan Arena.
Set scores for the match were 25-21, 25-27, and 25-15.
The Wildcats (7-12, 3-4 CACC) snapped a two-match losing streak with the win, using 18 aces in the match to keep the Devils (3-7, 2-5 CACC) on their heels.
The Devils battled back early in the first set to eventually take the lead, 10-9. But the Wildcats grabbed the momentum back with four straight points to take a 13-10 lead. The Devils hung around, however, as they again eventually took 16-15 lead. The Wildcats gained control of the set with three straight points, taking a 21-17 lead with a 6-1 spurt. The home team closed to 21-20, but a Brittany Ford ace gave the Wildcats a 23-20 lead. Back-to-back kills by Mandy Behiels ended the game, 25-21.
USciences came out quickly in the second set, grabbing the early lead, 9-5. Trailing 11-9, Eile Harris started a 4-0 swing with a kill, followed by a double block by Rebecca Rawlinson and Emma Kongevold, a Behiels kill, and an Addalyn Flores ace put the Wildcats in front, 13-11. The teams went back and forth until the Wildcats' final run. Leading 18-17, Harris again started a run with a kill from Miranda Shaw. Harris and Behiels put down back-to-back kills, forcing the Devils into a timeout. The run continued out of the break, however, as Jill Braunsberg came up with two aces before a block by Harris and Kongevold ended the set, 25-17.
The Wildcats were the ones to start quickly in the third set, as a 5-0 run gave the visitors a 9-3 lead. Another 6-0 run gave the Wildcats a 15-6 lead in the third game before a Behiels' kill started another 5-0 spurt to give the Wildcats a 20-9 advantage. Shaw collected an ace for a 23-12 lead before the Devils scored three-straight points. But 23-15 would be as close as they would get in the set, as Braunsberg put down a kill followed by a Behiels ace ended the match, 25-15.
The Wildcats hit .214 in the second set, putting down 12 kills with only six errors on 28 attacks. They finished the match with a .097 attack percentage, putting down 31 kills with 21 errors on 103 attempts.
Behiels led the Wildcats with 12 kills while adding three aces. Ford and Braunsberg led the team with four aces on the night while Braunsberg and Flores led the back row with 12 digs each. Harris led the defense at the net with four block assists and a solo block, adding three service aces as well. Shaw dished out 14 assists to pace the offense while Braunsberg added 10 assists as well.
The Wildcats return home for two CACC matches this weekend, as they kick off the 2017 Wilmington Homecoming Weekend with a match against South Division rival Chestnut Hill on Friday night. They will come right back and play Bloomfield on Saturday afternoon as well. The match against the Griffins is set for 7:00 p.m. at the WU Athletics Complex on Friday.