LAKEWOOD, N.J. - - After taking the first set at Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference South Division rival Georgian Court, the Wilmington University volleyball team dropped a 3-1 match on Friday night inside the Wellness Center.
Set scores for the match were 25-15, 25-27, 11-25, and 21-25.
The Wildcats (7-8, 1-2 CACC) came out firing in the match, opening with a .265 attack percentage in the first set with 13 kills on 34 attempts with only four errors. The Wildcats had set point in the second game, 25-24, but the Lions fought back with three straight points to steal the set, 27-25, and carried the momentum into the rest of the match.
Trailing 23-19 in the second set, the Wildcats battled back with four straight points to tie the game, 23-23, with back-to-back kills from Rebecca Rawlinson. Facing set point, Mandy Behiels tied the set with a kill before Rawlinson gave the Wildcats set point, 25-24, with a kill. But a Lion kill, service ace, and another kill gave the Lions the set, 27-25, to tie the match, 1-1.
The Lions used that momentum and carried it into the third set, jumping out to leads of 4-0, 12-1, 15-2, and 19-3. The Wildcats could only get within 19-7 before the Lions took the lead, 2-1, with a 25-11 victory.
An 8-2 spurt in the fourth game stretched the Lions' lead to 14-9, and the Wildcats couldn't climb all the way back. Back-to-back points put the Lions up, 22-16, and the Wildcats fought back with three consecutive points on a kill from Caroline Wise, a Lion attack error, and a Behiels ace to get to with 24-21, but the Lions put the match away with the next point.
Behiels led the Wildcats with 16 kills on 45 attempts, only committing five errors for a .244 attack percentage. Jill Braunsberg led the Wildcats with 18 assists while Jenna Brown led the back row with 23 digs. But the Wildcats were hurt by 13 reception errors, while only getting one service ace on their side.
The Wildcats need to have a short memory as they have a quick turnaround for their next match. They return to action at the WU Athletics Complex on Saturday as they host Post in a CACC cross-divisional contest. The first serve is set for 2:00 p.m.