After dropping the first set, the Wilmington University volleyball team battled back to take the next three games to earn a 3-1 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference victory at Felician on Saturday afternoon in Job Gym.
Set scores for the match were 17-25, 25-12, 25-23, and 25-17.
Junior Alex Siolos captured her fifth triple-double of the season for the Wildcats (6-10, 3-1 CACC), collecting 11 kills, 19 assists, and 14 digs in the win. Felician (3-5, 2-3 CACC) was led by Kayla Gallagher's 15 kills and Sally Taylor's double-double in the North-South Division crossover.
Felician jumped out to an early 10-6 lead in the first set and took as large as a six-point lead at 17-11. The Wildcats battled back to within four points at 18-14 and again at 20-16, but couldn't claw any closer in the opening set. The Golden Falcons took the final three points of the set to take the 1-0 lead.
A Siolos service ace gave the Wildcats a 9-2 lead in the second set before another string of seven consecutive points put the visitors up 20-8. The Wildcats scored five of the final seven points to even the match, getting a kill from freshman Eile Harris to win the set, 25-12.
The third set started the same way for the Wildcats, jumping out to a fast 8-2 lead. Felician battled back to within a point at 12-11 after four straight points but a Kasey Couch service ace gave the Wildcats a 22-18 advantage late in the set. Facing set point, the Golden Falcons rattled off three straight points to get to within one at 24-23, but Siolos picked up a kill to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead in the match.
Leading 10-9 in the fourth set, the Wildcats scored four straight points to grab a 14-9 lead and force Felician into a timeout. The Golden Falcons got to within 15-13, but the Wildcats scored five of the next six points, getting another ace from Jess Starr to put the Wildcats ahead, 20-14. Another string of five out of six points put the Golden Falcons away, as the Wildcats closed out the set and the match with kills from Erin Bistany, Harris, and Kailtin DiGiacinto.
A trio of Wildcats collected double figure terminations, led by DiGiacinto's team high 14. Allison Briley added 12 kills while Siolos chipped in with 11. The Wildcats finished with 53 kills in all, hitting .255 for the match as a team.
Couch dished out a team high 24 assists while DiGiacinto added a double-double with a team high 21 digs. Siolos added her 14 digs while Shelby Henderson chipped in with 14 digs as well.
Freshman Erin Bistany led the team with four solo blocks, adding three more block assists for a team high 5.5 blocks. Siolos had her hand on three block assists as well.
The Wildcats picked up 11 points on service aces, receiving three each from Starr, Siolos, and DiGiacinto. Couch and Henderson added one ace each to round out the team.
The Wildcats remain on the road for one more CACC Contest before returning home next weekend. The Wildcats head to Philadelphia in the CACC South Division battle on Tuesday starting at 6 p.m.