ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - - Rounding out the Eckerd College Classic, the Wilmington University volleyball team won the match they needed to win, beating in-region foe Bentley, 3-0, before falling to Barry, 0-3, on Saturday night in McArthur Gym.
Set scores against Bentley were 25-22, 25-20, and 25-20.
Set scores against Barry were 22-25, 17-25, and 20-25.
For the tournament, Wilmington (3-5 overall) went 2-2, defeating Nova Southeastern and Bentley (3-4) while falling to host Eckerd and Barry. Saturday, a freshman led the Wildcats to victory over Bentley.
Briley was the lone Wildcat to record double-digit kills, collecting 10 in all on 23 swings while only committing a pair of errors for a .328 hitting percentage. The offense was spread around, however, as seven different Wildcats recorded a kill in the three set victory.
Passing out the offense was junior Kasey Couch who led the team with 17 assists while sophomore Alex Siolos added 15 more helpers. A trio of Wildcats accounted for 18 of those assists, as middle Katie Shorter and Brittany Biddle, as well as Siolos each tallied six kills. Biddle finished hitting .385 for the match while Shorter was right behind Biddle with a .333 percentage.
Sophomore Kaitlin DiGiacinto chipped in with five kills while Couch and Hannah McQueen added three kills each as well.
Shelby Henderson led the back row in out digging the Falcons, 48-42, for the match. Henderson finished with a team high 14 digs, while DiGiacinto and Annie Scarfo each collected nine digs.
The Wildcats also out blocked the Falcons, 7-6, on the afternoon, led by Shorter and Siolos who each tallied two solo blocks and each added a block assist. Biddle was a part of two block assists at the net as well.
As a team, the Wildcats hit .257 for the match, including a team high .270 in the opening set. The defense held Bentley to only hitting .104 for the match, including a match low .025 in the second frame.
The tournament didn't end in favor of the Wildcats, however, as they dropped the final match of the weekend after being swept by Barry.
Seven different student-athletes come away with at least one kill again in the second match of the day, as Couch and Siolos combined for 28 of the team's 33 assists. Couch came away with a team high 18 assists while Siolos chipped in with 10. Nine of the assists came off the arm of Shorter, who led the offense with nine terminations.
Biddle collected six kills in the match, but didn't commit an error on 12 swings to finish with a .500 attack percentage. DiGiacinto led the back line with 11 digs in the second match, adding eight kills as well.
The Wildcats were out blocked in the second match, 7-3, receiving a block solo from Shorter and Biddle each, with Biddle leading the team by adding a block assist. Siolos rounded out the blocks against Barry (4-2) with one block assist.
After a pair of tournaments on the road, the Wildcats return home for 6 games in a week, capping the week off with the Wildcat Invitational next weekend. First, Wilmington will play CACC rival Georgian Court on Tuesday in the 2013 home opener before squaring off against Shepherd on Wednesday. The Wildcat Invitational will feature six teams at the WU Athletics Complex, starting on Friday afternoon.