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NEWARK, Del. - - Freshman Claudia Melendez broke the Wilmington University volleyball program record by recording 10 service aces in a single match on Tuesday, as the Wildcats went on to defeat crosstown rival Goldey-Beacom, 3-0, in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference action at the WU Athletics Complex.
Set scores for the match were 25-16; 25-21, and 25-9.
Claudia Melendez (Orlando, Fla.) put down 10 service aces against the Lightning (0-10, 0-7), breaking the program's single match record that has held firm for nearly 18 years. Lindsay Miller collected nine aces on September 3, 2004 and Jaime Bohlert tied the previous mark on October 15, 2005 at Nyack. Melendez had four aces in the first set and finished the match with six in the third set.
It was the second-best offensive output for the Wildcats this season, hitting .241 as a team. That is second best to the .242 the team hit against West Chester just last week. The Wildcats had 30 kills with a season low 10 errors on 83 attempts on Tuesday night.
Reigning CACC Player of the Week Brice Hansen led the Wildcats with 11 kills, only committing one error on 21 swings for a .476 attack percentage. She was the only Wildcat to collected a double-double on Tuesday, adding 12 digs in the win. Shannen Litten and Cailyn Smiley each chipped in with five kills.
Melendez finished with 10 aces, four assists, and three digs while Litten and Katie Bushong added two aces each as well. Brice Hansen has an ace as well, totaling 15 for the team in the win. Elly Collins had 11 digs in the match and was a perfect 19-of-19 on serve receive on Tuesday night. Katie Bushong dished out 22 assists to run the offense.
The Wildcats have now won three straight matches, including back-to-back in the CACC. They look to carry that momentum into their next match when they welcome Jefferson to the Complex on Thursday night. The first serve against the Rams is set for 7:00 p.m.
