GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - - The Wilmington University volleyball team had its chances in each match on Friday against tough regional opponents, but host Adelphi and Daemen took down the Wildcats on the opening day of the 2023 Adelphi Volleyball Tournament.

Set scores against Adelphi were 25-22, 21-25, 18-25, and 23-25.

Set scores against Daemen were 25-18, 25-20, and 25-22.

Match vs. Adelphi:

The Wildcats won the opening set by hitting a match high .205, putting down 14 kills with only five errors. With the set tied, 22-22, Adelphi made three errors to end the set, and put the Wildcats up 1-0. The Panthers took the next two sets to take the lead, but the Wildcats had a chance to extend the match in the fourth.

An 8-0 run gave the Wildcats a 14-9 lead in the fourth set, but the Panthers fought back to tie the game, 19-19. Kills from Cailyn Smiley and Shannen Litten gave the Wildcats a 21-19 lead, but again the Panthers answered to tie the game, 21-21. Brice Hansen put down a kill and Adelphi committed an error and the Wildcats were leading 23-21. But out of an Adelphi timeout, the Panthers scored the final four points to steal the set, 25-23, and the match, 3-1.

Cailyn Smiley led the offense with 14 kills while hitting .205 against the Panthers. She also added a double-double with 17 digs. Shannen Litten put down nine kills to go with eight digs and nine total blocks (three solo). Brice Hansen also had nine kills to go with 13 digs. Elly Collins collected 35 digs while Katie Bushong passed out 36 assists.

Match vs. Daemen:

Wilmington out-blocked Daemen, 7-1, for the match but Daemen collected 13 aces and had 15 more kills than the Wildcats.

The Wildcats closed the gap in the first set to within 17-14 with a 3-0 run, but then Daemen scored eight of the final 12 points to win the opener, 25-18. The Wildcats led, 20-18, in the second set, but Daemen ran off the final seven points to take the set, 25-20, and lead, 2-0, in the match. The Wildcats again led in the third set, 19-12, but an 8-1 Daemen run quickly tied the set, 20-20-. The Wildcats regained a 21-20 lead but then three straight points by Daemen turned the game in their favor, 23-21. Sydney Barrett put down a kill to get to within 23-22, but then Daemen secured the final two points to win the match, 25-22.

Cailyn Smiley had a team high 10 kills while only committing one attack error. Elly Collins had 18 digs while Katie Bushong passed out 20 assists. Shannen LItten added four kills and had a hand on four total blocks.

Up Next:

The Wildcats finish the Adelphi Tournament tomorrow with a match against Quincy. The opening serve is set for 4:30 p.m.