BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - - The Wilmington University volleyball season came to a close in the First Round of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament, as the North Division's 2nd Seed Bridgeport defeated the South Division's 3rd seeded Wildcats, 3-0, on Monday night at the Hubbell Gymnasium.
Set scores for the match were 25-17, 25-22, and 25-21.
With the win, the Purple Knights advance to the CACC Tournament Semifinals and will face the South Division No. 1 seed Jefferson on Saturday at the Campus Center hosted by Holy Family.
With the Wildcats leading, 10-7, in the first set, Bridgeport went on a 5-0 run to take a 12-10 lead. Three kills from Kacey Affrunti in a 4-0 run gave the Wildcats a 14-12 lead. But the Purple Knights came right back and used a 6-0 set defining run to take an 18-14 lead. Dorie Moore put down a kill to make it 18-17, but then Bridgeport ran off the final seven points of the set to win 25-17.
The Wildcats got off to a quick 4-0 lead and another Kacey Affrunti kill gave the Wildcats an 8-5 lead. Bridgeport rattled off the next six points to lead 11-8. The Wildcats closed the gap to a single point on multiple occasions, the latest at 22-21 after a kill from Heather Pedrick. A block gave the Purple Knights set point, 24-21, and the went up, 2-0, with a kill to end the set, 25-22.
Dorie Moore gave the Wildcats an 8-7 lead in the third set but Bridgeport scored five consecutive points to force WU into a timeout, 12-8. Brice Hansen started a 3-0 spurt with a kill before Heather Pedrick had back-to-back tallies to tie the set, 19-19. But the Wildcats couldn't get over the hump, as Bridgeport answered with a 4-0 run to take a 23-19 lead. The Purple Knights gained match point on a kill and then an error ended the match, 25-21.
Kacey Affrunti led the offense with 13 kills on 27 swings, adding a solo and three block assists. Heather Pedrick added nine kills and 10 digs. Elly Collins led the back row with 18 digs and two aces. Dorie Moore had two solo blocks and three overall. Katie Bushong added 25 assists and three block assists.
All four top seeds won at home in the CACC Quarterfinals. The Semifinals and Championship will be hosted by Holy Family in Philadelphia this weekend.