ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - - The Wilmington University volleyball team opened its 2022 season with a pair of losses at the Eckerd College Invitational on Friday, dropping straight set matches to Tiffin and host Eckerd.
Set scores against Tiffin were 25-22, 25-17, and 25-14.
Set scores against Eckerd were 25-13, 25-14, and 25-11.
Match vs. Tiffin:
The Wildcats jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead in the opening set, but Tiffin fought back to eventually tie the game, 15-15, and even take a 17-15 lead. Heather Pedrick came down with a kill to make it 21-20, but then Tiffin scored three straight to get to set point, 24-20. The Wildcats fought off two set points before a Tiffin kill made it, 1-0.
The Wildcats led 11-9 in the second set as well before Tiffin rattled off five straight points to take a 14-11 lead. The Wildcats got to within 17-15 but couldn't get any closer as Tiffin scored six of the final seven points to win going away, 25-17.
Dorie Moore put down a kill to bring the Wildcats to within 10-8 in the third set, but Tiffin scored the next 10 points to put the game and match away.
Heather Pedrick paced the Wildcats with seven kills, seven assists, and 10 digs. Kacey Affrunti and Jess Connelly collected five kills each. Elly Collins led the back row with 17 digs while Katie Bushong dished out 12 assists.
Match vs. Eckerd:
The Wildcats committed 17 errors and hit only .012 against Eckerd in the nightcap. Eckerd collected seven blocks in the win while committing only 10 errors themselves and finished the match hitting .402.
Eckerd went on a 12-3 run to close out the first set, 25-13, and then scored the final six points of the second set to win going away, 25-14. They closed out the match by turning a 2-1 deficit into a 17-2 lead, closing out the match with the final four points of the day, 25-11.
Freshman Brice Hansen led the Wildcats with five kills while adding four digs and the lone block of the match. Kacey Affrunti collected four kills and an ace while Dorie Moore chipped in with three kills. Katie Bushong dished out 10 assists while Elly Collins led with nine digs.
Up Next:
The Wildcats close out the Eckerd College Invitational on Saturday with two more matches. They open against Florida Tech at 10:00 a.m. and then close out the tournament against West Liberty at 5:30 p.m.