PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - - The Wilmington University volleyball team opened Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference play with a 3-0 sweep of South Division foe USciences on Wednesday night inside Bobby Morgan Arena.
Set scores for the night were 25-16, 25-19, and 25-18.
The Wildcats (4-4, 1-0 CACC) had their best offensive match of the season to this point, hitting .271 for the match, including a .348 third set with 12 kills and only four kills on 23 swings.
Wilmington got off to a slow start in the match, falling behind the Devils (0-1, 0-1 CACC) in the early going. The Devils started with leads of 4-1, 7-2, and ultimately their largest lead at 9-3. But the Wildcats started to climb out of the hole, scoring three straight in route to a 9-1 run to take a 12-10 lead. The Devils stayed close and tied the set, 16-16, but then the Wildcats rolled off the final nine points of the game to take the set, 25-16.
USciences took an early lead once again in the second set, leading as late as 9-7. The Wildcats scored four straight and used an 8-1 spurt to grab a 15-10 lead. USciences didn't lay down, though, as they scored four straight to get within 19-17. The teams traded points but then with the Wildcats leading 22-19, a Devils service error started a 3-0 run for the Wildcats to take a 2-0 lead, 25-19.
A 7-0 run gave the Devils an 8-3 lead early in the third set. A 4-1 run by the Wildcats brought them back to within 9-7, and then they used an 8-0 run to take command 15-10. A couple service aces for the Devils sparked a 6-1 run to tie the set, 16-16, but the Wildcats once again took off with a 6-0 run to regain control, 22-16. Jessica Connelly gave the Wildcats match point and then Mandy Behiels put the match away with a kill, 25-18.
Mandy Behiels led the Wildcats with 10 kills and 10 digs while Heather Pedrick put down nine terminations while hitting .471 in the match. She also had a team high 13 assists in the match. Grace Morton led the back row with 12 digs in the match.
The Wildcats return home Saturday following the road match, taking on Adelphi and Virginia State in a tri-match at the WU Athletics Complex. Wilmington will take on Adelphi at 12:00 p.m. and then finish with Virginia State at 6:00 p.m.