RUTHERFORD, N.J. - - For the ninth time in program history, the Wilmington University volleyball team is heading to the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament Semifinal, sweeping Felician, 3-0, on the road on Tuesday night at JJJ Gymnasium.
Set scores for the match were 25-15, 25-18, and 25-21.
The South Division's No. 3 seed went on the road and defeated the North Division's No. 2 seed, as the Wildcats (17-13) beat the Golden Falcons (13-15) for the second time this season in Rutherford, New Jersey.
The Wildcats held the Golden Falcons to hitting just .034, getting to 49 digs while adding nine total blocks. Felician racked up 29 attack errors and 12 service errors as well.
The Golden Falcons got off to a 4-0 start, but the Wildcats eventually tied the first set and took an 8-6 lead with a 5-0 run. Another 5-0 run gave the Wildcats a 15-9 lead before a block from Dorie Moore and Karalyn Osborne put the Wildcats up, 19-10. Felician got to within 21-15, but then the Wildcats served out the set, including back-to-back aces by Claudia Melendez to win the game, 25-15.
Trailing 8-7 in the second set, the Wildcats rattled off seven straight points to open a 14-8 lead. Felician closed the gap to within three on multiple occasions, but a service error and then a kill from Cailyn Smiley put the Wildcats up 21-16. Kills from Shannen Litten, Karalyn Osborne, and Cailyn Smiley gave the Wildcats set point, 24-17, before Smiley ended the set with another kill, 25-18.
Felician jumped out to a 7-4 lead in the third set, but then the Wildcats scored five straight en route to a 7-1 run, taking an 11-8 lead. Felician scored three consecutive points to get to within 15-14, but then the Wildcats used a 5-0 run to regain a 20-14 advantage. After a timeout, Felician used a 7-1 run to tie the set, 21-21, but then a kill from Brice Hansen, a Felician error, a Claudia Melendez ace, and one final Felician error ended the match, 25-21.
Cailyn Smiley led the Wildcats with 12 kills while hitting .310, committing only three errors on 29 swings in the match. She also added eight digs and two blocks as well. Karalyn Osborne put down seven kills while adding two blocks. Shannen Litten had four kills while adding four blocks as well. Dorie Moore led the Wildcats at the net with five blocks while Elly Collins led the back row with 13 digs.
The Wildcats now play the South Division's No. 1 seed Jefferson in the CACC Tournament Semifinal on Saturday. The Wildcats are looking to earn a spot in their first CACC Championship Match since 2012. The Wildcats and Rams are the second semifinal, slated for a 2:30 p.m. start on the campus of Georgian Court University in Lakewood, New Jersey.