NEWARK, Del. – The Wilmington University volleyball team came out strong in the Wildcat Regional Invitational on Friday afternoon, as they defeated Merrimack College, 3-0, and American International, 3-1, at the WilmU Athletic Complex.
Set scores for the match against Merrimack were 25-13, 25-20, and 25-21.
Set scores for the match against American Int'l were 23-25, 37-35, 25-15, and 25-18.
Match vs. Merrimack
The Wildcats (5-6) led the charge in their first match of the day against Merrimack (2-4), as they swept the Warriors 3-0. WilmU came out swinging as they posted 45 kills in the match, hitting .252 to Merrimack's .122.
Sophomore Bailey Andrews led the Wildcats with 11 kills, hitting .474 with only two errors, while also contributing with two solo blocks. Rebecca Rawlinson added seven kills and two blocks for Wilmington. Jenna Brown collected 14 digs, while teammates Jill Braunsberg and Mandy Behiels added 13 digs a piece. Miranda Shaw dished out 21 assists and 11 digs for her second double-double of the season for WilmU.
Emma Kongevold added five kills on seven attacks for a hitting percentage of .714, while also chipping in with three digs.
Defensively, the Wildcats out-dug the Warriors 67-59, while out-blocking them 6-4.
Match vs. American Int'l
The Wildcats hung on to win an intense matchup against American Int'l (3-6) on Friday afternoon.
It was a back-and-forth rally in the first two sets as American Int'l took the first set from the Wildcats 25-23, before Wilmington rallied back to win the second set 37-35. The Yellow Jackets had a 21-15 lead in the second set before Brittany Ford served up an ace to start a rally for the Wildcats' comeback win. The Wildcats held off all six of AIC's set points in the second set.
Mandy Behiels led the Wildcats with 17 kills and 14 digs, along with Bailey Andrews who had 10 kills and 13 digs. Rebecca Rawlinson added 10 kills, with a hitting percentage of .364. Jenna Brown led the back row with 21 digs, as Miranda Shaw dished out 27 assists.
Jill Braunsberg added seven kills and 14 digs putting her three kills shy of a double-double.
The Wildcats out-blocked their opponent 15-1. Rebecca Rawlinson had three solo blocks and six block assists, and Caroline Wise chipped in with five block assists.
Next Up:
WilmU will continue in the Wildcat Regional Invitational, where they will take on Southern Connecticut State beginning at 10 a.m. saturday morning and Franklin Piece at 4:00 p.m. at the WilmU Athletic Complex.
