WILMINGTON, Del. - - The Wilmington University volleyball team took care of crosstown rival Goldey-Beacom in straight sets on Wednesday, sweeping the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference series for the season.
Set scores for the match were 25-12, 25-21, and 25-15.
The Wildcats (16-10, 10-2 CACC) had their fifth fewest errors in a contest this season, putting down 40 kills on 109 attempts with only 13 errors for a .248 attack percentage.
The Wildcats trailed, 9-8, in the first set, but then went on a big run to take over the set. A block by Dorie Moore and Heather Pedrick started a 4-0 run, which turned into a 9-1 run to take a 17-10 lead. The Lightning (7-16, 3-10 CACC) closed to within 18-12, but then the Wildcats scored the final seven points of the game, getting a kill from Mandy Behiels, a block from Behiels and Angel Oliver, and back-to-back aces from Grace Morton during the run.
The Lightning jumped out to a 17-11 lead in the second set, but the Wildcats clawed back with four straight to get within 17-15. But Goldey-Beacom answered back with a 4-1 spurt to take a 21-16 lead, but that would be as far as they would get. An attack error put the ball in the hands of Mandy Behiels, and she served out the set. The run started with a block from Dorie Moore and Heather Pedrick, an ace, and back-to-back kills from Moore and Pedrick to force Goldey-Beacom into the first timeout. The Wildcats scored three more to force the Lightning into another timeout, but then Jessica Connelly ended the set with a kill, 25-21.
Back-to-back runs brought the Lightning to within 14-11 in the third set, but then the Wildcats rattled off seven straight, spanning a Goldey-Beacom timeout, to take a commanding 21-11 lead. Goldey-Beacom scored the next three points, but then the Wildcats received kills from Jessica Connelly and Angel Oliver before a ball handing error by the Lightning ended the match, 25-15.
Jessica Connelly led the Wildcats with nine kills, adding four block assists. Angel Oliver, Heather Pedrick, and Mandy Behiels all finished with eight kills each, with Oliver leading with seven block assists, Pedrick leading with 18 assists, and Behiels leading with 14 digs as well.
The Wildcats' three-match road trip continues this weekend when they head to Dominican for a CACC cross-divisional matchup. The first set is set for 12:00 p.m. in Orangeburg, New York.