PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - - Hitting only at a .151 clip for the match, the Wilmington University volleyball team used yet another facet of its game to extend its current win streak to 12-straight matches, defeating Chestnut Hill, 3-0, on Friday night in the Sorgenti Arena.
Remaining undefeated in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, the Wildcats (22-4, 14-0 CACC) collected 11 team blocks at the net, holding Chestnut Hill (7-17, 3-10 CACC) to a .088 attack percentage and only three team blocks on the night.
Set scores for the night were 25-18, 25-21, and 25-23.
Unable to click on all cylinders like the Wildcats have done during its longest win streak since 2004, they still found a way to get the job done, sweeping their sixth straight opponent to remain atop the CACC South Division.
Tonight the match was won at the net, as Senior Brooke Foskey and junior Katie Shorter led the visitors defensively. Foskey denied two solo blocks and added two block assists for three total blocks while Shorter got a hand on five block assists and added a solo block. The CACC block leader, Shorter, now averages 1.44 blocks per set.
Freshman Alex Siolos collected four block assists on the night as well, while junior Brittany Biddle chipped in with a solo block and two block assists in the middle. Freshman Kaitlin DiGiacinto rounded out the 11 total team blocks, finishing with one block assist.
Trailing 7-4 in the first set, the Wildcats rattled off seven of the next eight points to take an 11-8 lead and never look back. Sophomore Kasey Couch picked up two service aces on the run while senior Nicole Wiechecki added a pair of kills. Foskey got the rally going with a kill from Siolos.
The Wildcats continued to roll in the first set, opening the lead to as large as 10 at 22-12 before Chestnut Hill made a mini run to close to within six points. But a kill by Wiechecki gave the Wildcats set point and Siolos finished the set with a kill, 25-18.
Wilmington made an early run in the second game, opening an 11-6 lead as The Griffins burned one of its timeouts. But the home team rallied to tie the set at 14-14and again at 15-15 before a DiGiacinto kill gave the Wildcats the lead for good at 16-15. The lead grew to 20-17 before the Griffins closed the game back to one at 21-20. But Shorter terminated an attempt followed by another kill from Wiechecki to push it to 23-20. An attack error by the Griffins gave the Wildcats set point and a big double block by Shorter and Siolos ended the game, 25-21.
The third set was back and forth, as each team responded to every run, keeping the score tied all the way through to as late as 21-21. Wiechecki came up with a put down for the side out and Annie Scarfo followed it up with a huge service ace for the 23-21 lead. After coming out of a timeout called by Chestnut Hill, the team's traded points as Shorter and Foskey denied another Griffin attempt for set and match points. Chestnut Hill's Mary Markowski closed the set to within one once again with a kill, forcing a Wildcat timeout.
Out the of the timeout, head coach Kim Huggins-Habbert called Wiechecki's number once again and she recorded her ninth kill to end the match, 25-23.
Wiechecki led the team with her nine kills while Shorter, DiGiacinto and Siolos all added five kills each. Foskey and Biddle collected four kills each as Biddle was the most efficient on her swings, finishing with a team high .333 attack percentage. Scarfo rounded out the team's 33 kills with a kill on three attempts.
Wilmington returns home after its three consecutive road contests this week, facing the North Division's second best team. Caldwell, which defeated Nyack, 3-1, on Friday night, comes to the WU Athletic Complex with an 18-9 overall record and a 11-2 mark in the CACC. The Wildcats will look to defend its home court starting at 12 p.m.