NEWARK, Del. - - After dropping the first set of the match, the Wilmington University volleyball team battled back to win their third straight contest with a 3-1 win over Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference foe Georgian Court on Thursday night at the WU Athletics Complex.
Set scores for the Wildcats were 20-25, 25-17, 28-26, and 25-22.
Precision was the name of the game for the Wildcats (13-12, 7-5 CACC), as they finished with a season high .256 attack percentage in the match, putting down 59 kills while only committing 17 errors on 164 swings. The 59 kills are a new season high in a four-set match, while also tying the season high overall, a five-set match against Felician. The 17 errors were the second fewest in a four-set match this year as well.
The block came out as well for the Wildcats, as they held a 9-6 advantage at the net. Shannen Litten was the main culprit at the net for the Wildcats, getting her hands on nine block assists on the night. Katie Bushong was also there to get a piece of four block assists on the night.
The trio of middle hitters led the charge for the Wildcats, putting down a combined 19 kills with only three errors on 31 swings. They combined to hit .516 for the match, led by Shannen Litten hitting .600 with 10 kills and only one error on 15 attempts. Alex Serna had eight kills with one error while hitting .500 for the match while Dorie Moore chipped in with a kill on two swings as well.
In the third set, the Wildcats led 22-19 before the Lions scored six of the next eight points to earn set point, 25-24. Brice Hansen and Shannen Little fired back with kills and took a 26-25 lead. Georgian Court had a stop on that set point, but then Karalyn Osborne put down a kill and Claudia Melendez served up an ace and the Wildcats were leading, 2-1, with a 28-26 win.
The Wildcats raced out to a 13-9 lead in the fourth game and then another 4-1 spurt helped them regain a four-point lead, 19-15. The Lions scored three straight to get within a single point, 19-18, but then Katie Bushong, Alex Serna, and Cailyn Smiley came up with kills and the Wildcats led 23-18. An Alex Serna kill gave the Wildcats match point, but the Lions saved three match points to close to within 24-22. But that's as close as they would get as Brice Hansen found the floor for the final time to win, 25-22.
Cailyn Smiley led all hitters with 19 kills on 48 swings, hitting .292 for the match. She also added 15 digs for the double-double. Brice Hansen collected 13 kills on 56 swings, adding 13 digs for a double-double as well. Katie Bushong dished out 48 assists while adding 12 digs while Elly Collins led the back row with 26 digs.
The Wildcats take to the road for their next two contests, first on Saturday at Dominican in a cross divisional contest. The first serve in Orangeburg, New York, is set for 12:00 p.m.
