RINDGE, N.H. - - The Wilmington University volleyball team slammed the door shut against Texas A&M International to record its first win of the 2018 season, finishing the Raven First Serve Invitational with a 1-3 record, falling to LIU Post in the nightcap on Saturday at The Fieldhouse.
Set scores against Texas A&M International were 25-21, 27-25, and 25-11.
Set scores against LIU Post were 25-15, 18-25, 27-29, and 22-25.
In their first win of the season, the Wildcats (1-3), closed out the Dustdevils (1-4) with their best set of the young season, collecting 14 kills with only two errors on 29 attempts for a .414 attack percentage in the third and final set.
Leading 24-21 in the second set, the Dustdevils fought back to tie the game at 24-24. Still tied at 25-25, the Wildcats used a Dustdevils error and a Jill Braunsberg ace to close out the game, 27-25, to take a 2-0 lead. They then rode the momentum into the third set, jumping out to leads of 8-2, 17-7, and 24-11, before closing the match.
As a team, the Wildcats hit .293 against the Dustdevils, collecting 40 kills with only 13 errors for a .293 attack percentage. Sophomore outside Mandy Behiels paced the Wildcats with 10 kills and only two errors, finishing with a .444 attack percentage. She collected the lone double-double in the match, finishing with a team high 10 digs as well.
Newcomer Bailey Andres put down nine kills while Rebecca Rawlinson and Jill Braunsberg added seven kills each. Miranda Shaw dished out 19 assists while Braunsberg added 14 assists and nine digs.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 1-0 lead over LIU Post in the nightcap, winning the first set, 25-18, before closely falling in the next three games. The turning point came in the third set, as the Wildcats held set points, 25-24, before eventually falling 29-27. The Pioneers took the fourth and final set, 25-22, to claim the match, 3-1.
Behiels paced the offense once again against the Pioneers, putting down 12 terminations while hitting .300. She collected 11 digs to finish with the double-double as well. Rebecca Rawlinson finished with nine kills while hitting .222, adding the team's lone solo block and two block assists. Braunsberg put down seven kills while dishing out a team high 18 assists, collecting a team high three aces, and adding 12 digs for the double-double. Jenna Brown led the team with 13 digs in the loss.
The Wildcats return home before heading south nest weekend, playing at Rollins and at Florida Southern in four more contests. They square off against Florida Tech on Friday at Rollins College with the first serve set for 11:00 a.m.