Video Recap at Bottom of Page
NEWARK, Del. - - The Wilmington University volleyball team dropped the first match of the day, 3-0, to Adelphi, but bounced back with their best offensive output of the season in a 3-0 victory over Virginia State on Saturday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex.
Set scores against Adelphi were 25-21, 25-14, and 25-23.
Set scores against Virginia State were 25-14, 25-13, and 25-21.
Mandy Behiels seventh dig of the night, coming in the second set, was her 1,000th of her career. Coupled with her 1,000th career kill earlier this year, she is the fifth Wildcat in its NCAA era to record 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs.
MATCH 1 vs. Adelphi:
Adelphi never hit below .244 for a set, including putting down 17 kills with only one error in the second set where they hit .421. The Wildcats had six blocks in the match, but couldn't slow down the Panther (9-2) offense that finished hitting .297 with 52 kills.
The Wildcats clawed back to 20-17 with three straight points in the first set, and even got as close as 22-20 with a kill from Jessica Connelly. But the Panthers scored the final two points of the set to take game one, 25-21.
Back-to-back kills from Connelly tied the second set, 12-12, but then the Panthers stepped on the gas. Four-straight points forced a timeout and then they went on to score the next two to take an 18-12 lead. After the teams traded points, The Panthers rattled off another five consecutive points, and then finished off the Wildcats out of a timeout, 25-14.
The Wildcats raced out to a 12-6 lead in the third set, and led 15-10 before Adelphi scored seven straight to get back into the set and lead 17-15. The teams traded points until a kill from Mandy Behiels, a block by Angel Oliver and Heather Pedrick, and a Panther attack error tied the set, 23-23. But back-to-back kills from Adelphi took the match, 25-23.
Heather Pedrick and Jessica Connelly finished with nine kills each while Pedrick and Mandy Behiels led with 12 digs each. Angel Oliver hit .429 with six kills and had a team high four block assists.
MATCH 2 vs. Virginia State:
The offense had its best production of the season, hitting .352 with only nine errors in a 3-0 sweep of Virginia State. They put down 15 kills with only two errors in the second set, finishing with a .481 attack percentage.
The Wildcats got off to quick starts in the nightcap, jumping out to leads of 4-0, 8-4, and 11-5. Another 4-0 spurt put the Wildcats ahead 17-9 and then they were able to finish off the first set by scoring six of the final seven points to win 25-14.
A 10-1 run gave the Wildcats an 11-3 lead early in the second set. Still leading 18-12, the Wildcats went on another sprint, scoring six straight to get to set point. Jessica Connelly then put down a kill to move ahead, 2-0, with a 25-13 set two win.
Tied 4-4 in the third, the Wildcats went on a 7-2 run to take control. The Trojans scored four straight to get within 15-14, but the Wildcats got a kill from Kaiya Medina and an ace from Katie Bushong to go back up 18-14. Leading 22-21, a service error started a 3-0 run to end the match for the Wildcats. Dorie Moore put down the final kill for the match, 25-21.
Mandy Behiels led the Wildcats with 10 kills while hitting .346, committing only one error on 26 swings. Angel Oliver, Heather Pedrick, Kaiya Medina, and Jessica Connelly all finished with six kills. Heather Pedrick dished out 17 assists and finished with a match high 11 digs.
UP NEXT:
The Wildcats are home three times next week, starting with a CACC South Division contest against Holy Family on Tuesday night. The opening serve is set for 7:00 p.m. at the WU Athletics Complex.
