BLOOMFIELD, N.J. - - The Wilmington University volleyball team won its three straight Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference match with a 3-1 victory on the road at Bloomfield on Saturday afternoon.
Set scores for the match were 25-23, 25-22, 22-25, and 25-19.
The Wildcats (8-7, 4-1 CACC) trailed, 22-19, in the first set, but stormed back late. Still down 23-21, The Wildcats got back-to-back kills from Jessica Connelly, a block from Kaiya Medina and Angel Oliver and then a Heather Pedrick ace to steal the opener, 25-23.
The Wildcats raced out to a 7-2 lead in the second set, but the Bears answered to tie the set, 9-9. Tied at 16-16, the Wildcats rattled off four straight to take control of the games. Two of the four points came on blocks for the Wildcats. Jessica Connelly put down a pair of kills to give the Wildcats set point, 24-20, before Angel Olive finally put the Bears away with a kill, 25-22.
Bloomfield led for the entire third set, but a 6-0 run gave them the space they needed, 18-12. The teams traded points until the Wildcats score three straight at the end, getting as close as 23-22. But a block gave the Bears set point before an ace kept the Bears in the contest, 25-22.
The Wildcat scored six consecutive points in the fourth set to take a 13-6 lead. They were able to keep their distance from the Bears for most of the set, leading 23-15 after a kill from Angel Oliver. But the Bears went on a 4-1 run to claw to within 24-19. But Kaiya Medina ended the match with a kill from Heather Pedrick, 25-19.
Mandy Behiels hit .611 for the match with only one error, putting down 12 kills on 18 swings. She also added 10 digs for the double-double. Angel Oliver finished with 10 kills while leading at the net with two solo blocks and six block assists. Jessica Connelly finished with eight kills while Heather Pedrick added seven put downs.
Katie Bushong led with 21 assists while Pedrick chipped in with 19 helpers and three aces. Bushong finished second on the team with nine digs.
The Wildcats return home to face Jefferson in the midweek game at the WU Athletics Complex. The Tuesday night contest will start at 7:00 p.m.