WINTER PARK, Fla. - - With its back against the wall, the Wilmington University volleyball team fought all the way back to take down Florida Tech, 3-2, in its first match of the day hosted by Rollins, but ended the day with a 3-1 loss to the host Tars on Friday night in Warden Arena.
Set scores for the match against Florida Tech were 19-25, 15-25, 25-19, 25-18, and 15-13.
Set scores for the match against Rollins were 25-17, 21-25, 15-25, and 21-25.
Match vs. Florida Tech:
Trailing 2-0 to Florida Tech, the Wildcats (2-4) rallied to stun the Panthers in a five-set thriller. After hitting .159 and negative .032 in the first two sets, respectively, the Wildcats answered with sets of .379, .211, and .160 to take the match.
Newcomer Bailey Andrews stole the show for the Wildcats, leading the team with 16 kills on 37 swings with only six errors for a .270 attack percentage. Rebecca Rawlinson also collected double digit kills with 10, hitting .250 with only three errors. Miranda Shaw dished out 24 assists while adding 13 digs for the double-double and Jenna Brown led the back row with 23 digs for the match.
Brittany Ford was a kill away from a double-double, putting down nine terminations while hitting .269 with 13 digs.
The Wildcats out-blocked the Panthers, 7-5.5, on the match.
Match vs. Rollins:
The Wildcats remained hot to start their nightcap against Rollins, winning their fourth straight set of the day with a 25-17 win in the opener against the Tars.
The team hit .435 in the opening set, putting down 13 kills with only three errors to jump up on the hosts, 1-0. The Wildcats continued to hit well in the second, putting down 14 kills with only five errors for a .257 attack percentage, but the Tars turned a 9-8 deficit into a 14-9 lead and never looked back.
Bailey Andrews was the big hitter once again for the Wildcats, putting down 12 kills on 24 swings with only five errors to hit .292 for the match. Rawlinson added nine kills with only two errors to hit .350 while Ford tacked on eight kills and nine digs. Miranda Shaw dished out 25 assists while Jenna Brown led the team with 12 digs. Jill Braunsberg added seven kills, 16 assists, and seven digs in the loss.
The Wildcats again out-blocked their opponents, 6.5-5, in the nightcap. Caroline Wise led the Wildcats with five block assists in the match.
Next Up:
The Wildcats stay in the Sunshine State but move 60 miles southwest to Florida Southern College for two more matches on Saturday. The Wildcats will start with West Texas A&M at 10:30 a.m. followed by Catawba at 4:45 p.m.