Copyright 2015; WIlmington University. All rights reserved. File photo of Kaitlin DiGiacinto against Dominican by Frank Stallworth.
NEWARK, Del. - - The service game continues to carry the Wilmington University volleyball team as they picked up 12 more aces in a 3-1 victory over Kutztown in nonconference action on Tuesday night at the WU Athletics Complex.
Set scores for the match were 25-17, 25-21, 24-26, and 25-19.
The Wilmington (14-6) defense held Kutztown (4-16) to a .120 hitting percentage for the match while picking up 111 digs of its own. The Wildcats hit .186 for the match, picking up 57 kills with only 22 errors on 188 swings.
Alex Siolos led the charge behind the service line, collecting seven aces in the match. Siolos added 14 kills, 16 digs, six assists, and three block assists as well, totaling 22.5 points in the match.
Kaitlin DiGiacinto led the offense with 16 kills, but it was her fifth of the match that broke a record. The senior's fifth kill of the night was her 1,097th of her career, surpassing Kristin Wiedeman's program record in the NCAA era set in 2006. The team joined the NCAA ranks for the 2004 season.
DiGiacinto added 19 digs for the double-double, totaling 19 points on Tuesday night. Allison Briley was the final Wildcat with double digit kills, collecting 13 kills to go along with 24 digs for the double-double. Shelby Henderson led all Wildcats with 26 digs on the night.
The Wildcats had a chance to weep the Golden Bears, but the visitors battled back from five match points when trailing 24-18. Anna Conti's service game brought Kutztown back while back-to-back blocks gave the Golden Bears set point, 25-24. A Siolos attacking error gave Kutztown the set, 26-24, and life in the match.
Kutztown attempted another late comeback in the fourth set, as the Wildcats were leading 21-13. Five straight points by the visitors brought them to within three at 21-18, and they were as close as 22-19. But a bad set, a kill by Briley, and a DiGiacinto ace ended the set, 25-19, and the match, 3-1, in favor of the Wildcats.
Miranda Shaw dished out 47 assists to go with 13 digs for the double-double. She also tallied a pair of kills and a service ace in the match.
The Wildcats take to the road for their next four matches, their longest road trip of the season. The journey begins with their cross-town rivals on Thursday, as they head to Goldey-Beacom for a 7:00 p.m. first serve.
