PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - - The Wilmington University volleyball team couldn't close out Thomas Jefferson on the opening night of Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference play, falling 3-2 on Wednesday night inside the Gallagher Athletic Center.
Set scores for the match were 15-25, 25-27, 25-20, 25-21, and 15-12.
The Wildcats (1-8, 0-1 CACC) jumped all over the Rams (3-1, 2-0 CACC) to start the match, rattling off eight straight points to take an 18-10 lead. They then scored four straight points to take a 24-14 lead before Brice Hansen put the first set away with a kill, 25-15.
The Wildcats found themselves down 22-16 late in the second set, but then rattled off six consecutive points to tie the set, 22-22. A Brice Hansen kill and a Ram error gave the Wildcats set point, but the Rams were able to tie the game, 24-24. Again tied at 25-25, the Wildcats got a kill from Jess Connelly and a block by Connelly and Shannen Litten to take the game, 27-25, and lead, 2-0.
The Rams jumped out in the third set to an 8-3 lead before the Wildcats fought all the way back to tie it at 11-11. Still tied at 14-14, the Rams went on a 5-0 run to take control and never look back. The Wildcats scored three straight points to claw to within 23-20, but the Rams scored the final two points, 25-20.
Jefferson kept the momentum into the fourth set, jumping out to a 14-6 lead. A 10-3 spurt by the Wildcats brought the Wildcats back to within 17-16, but they could never get over the hump. A Kacey Affrunti ace followed by a Connelly kill tied the set, 21-21, but then the Rams scored four straight to tie the match, 25-21.
The Wildcats were down 9-5 in the fifth set but started to fight back. The Wildcats scored three straight and four out of five points to get within 10-9. The Rams scored the next three points in the game and then had match point following a kill by Jess Molen. Katie Bushong and Litten had a block and Jess Connelly put down a kill to bring the Wildcats to within 14-12, but then Mollen put down her 24th kill of the night to bring the Rams all the way back, 15-12.
Brice Hansen led the Wildcats with 17 kills and 17 digs in her first conference match of her career. Connelly finished with 11 kills while Kacey Affrunti hit .400 with nine kills, adding a team high six blocks. Bushong finished with 21 assists and 10 digs while Elly Collins led the way with 22 digs.
The Wildcats make their 2022 home debut this weekend when they host the 2022 Wildcat Regional Invitational. The tournament starts on Friday with the Wildcats facing Adelphi at 4:00 p.m.