CALDWELL, N.J. - - The trio of Alex Serna, Karla Nunez-Rivera, and Eliza Schneider led the Wilmington University volleyball team to a 3-1 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference victory over Caldwell on Saturday afternoon in the Newman Center.
Set scores for the match were 25-17, 31-29, 26-28, and 25-14.
All three finished the match with 14 kills while Serna led the match with only one error, hitting .684 on 19 attempts. The Wildcats had a season's second best .289 attack percentage in the match, putting down 63 kills with only 20 errors on 149 attempts.
The Wildcats used a 7-0 run in the first to grab an 18-8 lead but the Cougars didn't go away, getting to within 23-17 before the Wildcats called a timeout. A Schneider kill and a Cougar error gave the Wildcats the set, 25-17.
Wilmington used a 4-0 run to get to set point, 24-21, in the second, but the Cougars saved all three set points and tied the set, 24-24. The Cougars gained the edge with back-to-back points, 26-25, but the Wildcats held off set point three as well. The Wildcats picked up back-to-back points to get set point, 29-28, and then received kills by Karalyn Osborne and Karla Nunez-Rivera to end the game, 31-29.
Caldwell was the first to get to set point in game three, leading, 24-22. The Wildcats earned set point with three straight points, 25-24, but the Cougars responded with back-to-back kills to make it 26-25. The Wildcats saved one set point, but then Caldwell gained back-to-back points against to stay alive, 28-26.
Wilmington opened a large lead in the fourth set after using a 9-1 run, capped by a kill from Cam Justus to take a 19-8 lead. The Cougars got to within 19-11 and then the teams traded points until a service error ended it in favor of the Wildcats, 25-14.
Alex Serna added five blocks at the net as well while Karalyn Osborne dished out 27 assists, nine digs, four blocks, and seven kills. Crystal Creek put down eight kills while Gabby Barth led the back row with 23 digs. Morgan Daniels chipped in with 10 digs and four aces.
The Wildcats return home for two matches next week, starting with a CACC South Division matchup with Chestnut Hill on Tuesday night. The first serve is set for 7:00 p.m. at the WU Athletics Complex.