WEST CHESTER, Pa. - - The Wilmington University volleyball team closed out its nonconference schedule with a 3-0 win on the road at West Chester on Tuesday night inside Hollinger Fieldhouse.
Set scores for the match were 31-29, 25-18, and 25-21.
The Wildcats (13-14) staved off three set points in the opening game, and then scored three straight points to take the set, 31-29. Tuesday night was their second best hitting performance of the season, hitting .375 with only 11 errors on 104 swings.
West Chester (18-8) jumped out to a quick 7-1 lead in the first set but then the Wildcats used a 7-2 run to regain a 13-12 lead. The Rams went back ahead and led by as many as two points at 21-19 before back-to-back kills from Jess Connelly and an ace from Heather Pedrick gave the Wildcats a 22-21 lead. The teams traded points until kills rom Katie Bushong and Brice Hansen gave the Wildcats their first set point, 24-23. The Rams used back-to-back points to take their first set point, 26-25, and then a Bushong ace gave the Wildcats set point again, 27-26. But West Chester bounced back again, gaining their second set point, 28-27. They again had set point at 29-28 before the Wildcats answered. Heather Pedrick put down a kill and then an error gave the Wildcats set point, 30-29. Jess Connelly put the set away with a kill, 31-29.
Trailing 9-7 in the second set, the Wildcats ran off a 13-5 run to take a 20-14 lead. The teams traded points the rest of the way, getting an ace from Bushong, and then kills from Brice Hansen, Jess Connelly, and a set ending kill from Heather Pedrick to take a 2-0 lead, 25-18.
The Wildcats started off hot in the third set, taking lead of 5-2 and 12-6. West Chester fought back with a 7-2 run to get to within 19-17. Their run continued with another 4-2 spurt to close the gap to 22-21. But Kacey Affrunti put down a kill and then Heather Pedrick served up an ace and Jess Connelly and Kacey Affrunti denied a West Chester attack to end the match, 25-21.
Heather Pedrick led the Wildcats with 14 kills while hitting .429, committing only two errors on 28 attempts. She also led the Wildcats with 12 digs for the double-double. Kacey Affrunti finished with 13 kills and a team high six block assists. Jess Connelly hit .500 for the match with 10 kills, committing only one error on 18 attempts. Katie Bushong handed out 39 assists while Elly Collins finished with 10 digs.
The Wildcats return home on Thursday to continue their Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference schedule. They have three matches left in the regular season, starting with Goldey-Beacom on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.