PUEBLO, Colo. - - The Wilmington University picked up its first win of the 2022 season, coming all the way back to shock Davis & Elkins, 3-2, before falling to Dallas Baptist in straight sets to close out the 2022 Steel City Showcase hosted by Colorado State Pueblo.
Set scores for the match against Davis & Elkins were 23-25, 13-25, 25-20, 29-27, and 15-11.
Set scores for the match against DBU were 25-13, 25-18, and 25-20.
Match vs. Davis & Elkins:
Trailing 2-1 and 20-14 in the fourth set, the Wildcats fought off four match points and came all the way back to defeat the Senators for their first win of the season. The Wildcats also dropped the first two sets of the match, making it a full-fledged comeback for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats were down 20-14 in the first set but fought back to eventually tie the set, 21-21. Tied again at 23-23, the Senators took the set with a WilmU error and a kill, 25-23.
The Senators turned a 10-8 lead into a 16-9 advantage in the second set, and then scored five straight to take a 23-12 lead. They led the match, 2-0, with a 25-13 second set win.
The third set went back and forth before the Wildcats scored three straight points to take an 11-9 lead. Three more consecutive points gave the Wildcats a 15-11 lead in route to a 19-13 advantage. The Wildcats led 24-17 before the Senators made it close with a 3-0 run, but a service error kept the Wildcats alive, 25-20.
The Wildcats led, 7-6, in the fourth set before the Senators rattled off a 9-2 run to take a 15-9 lead. An ace gave the Senators their largest lead of the set, 17-10, and led by six points as late as 20-14. A pair of kills by Brice Hansen sandwiched around a Katie Bushong kill forced Davis & Elkins into a timeout leading 21-19. The Senators led 23-20 and then had match point at 24-22 before a Kacey Affrunti kill and an error tied the set, 24-24. Heather Pedrick put down a kill to tie it at 25-25 and then a block by Bushong and Dorie Moore gave the Wildcats their first set point, 26-25. The Senators score back-to-back points to get another match point before Jess Connelly tied the set, 27-27, with a kill. Pedrick found the floor before a block by Bushong and Moore gave the Wildcats the set, 29-17, and tie the match, 2-2.
The momentum was on the Wildcats' side in the fifth set, as they stormed out and scored the first five points and led 9-1. After back-to-back kills by Connelly and a bad Senator set. The Senators scored five straight to get to within 12-7, but the Wildcats gained match point, 14-7. The Senators didn't quit however, scoring four straight to make it 14-11 and force Wilmington into their second timeout. Sydney Hicks and Dorie Moore got their hands on an attack for a block, capping the comeback, 15-11, in the fifth set.
Kacey Affrunti led the Wildcats with 18 kills, hitting .412 for the match. Brice Hansen put down 11 kills while Dorie Moore added 10 kills as well. Affrunti and Moore led the line at the net with five blocks each. Connelly chipped in with nine kills as well. Katie Bushong dished out 32 assists while Elly Collins led the back row with 23 digs.
Match vs. Dallas Baptist:
Dallas Baptist hit .348 for the match against the Wildcats, putting down 46 kills with only 15 errors. They also picked up 31 digs as compared to the Wildcats' 19 in the match, keeping the Wildcats off the board.
The Patriots turned a 3-2 deficit into a 13-5 advantage in the first set, scoring the final four points of the run. The Wildcats fought to get within 16-11, but then DBU scored the next seven points to lead 23-11 before closing out the set, 25-13.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 5-1 lead early in the second set but then the Patriots used a 9-0 to take the lead and move ahead, 13-7. Kills by Brice Hansen, Heather Pedrick, Kacey Affrunti, came in a 4-0 run for the Wildcats to close to within 17-13, but the Patriots answered with three straight of their own to regain a 20-13 lead. The teams traded two-point swings as the Patriots won the set, 25-18.
A Kacey Affrunti kill tied the third set, 10-10, but then DBU scored three straight to take the lead for good. A Shannen Litten kill brought the Wildcats to within 16-14, but DBU rattled off four straight to move ahead, 20-14. Three straight points for the Wildcats saw them close to within 23-19, but a DBU kill thwarted the rally. A kill ended the set, 25-20, and the match, 3-0.
The middles led the Wildcats as Affrunti finished with nine kills while hitting .467. Dorie Moore hit .429 with four kills while Shannen Litten added three kills as well.
Up Next:
The Wildcats begin Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference play this week as they travel to Philadelphia to battle South Division rival Thomas Jefferson. The match is set for Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.