Box Score Philadelphia, Pa. - (9/23/2015) – Get Real With Teal Night and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) play continued to bring out the best in the Chestnut Hill College women's volleyball team. For the second straight season, the Griffins bested an opponent that had dominated the teams' history; this time, the scarlet and gold knocked off Wilmington University by a 3-1 final (25-23, 26-24, 20-25, 25-19) to remain perfect in the conference standings and post their first victory over the Wildcats since 2011. Senior outside hitter Rachel Biro (Nazareth, Pa.) showed the Griffins the way with a career-best 19 kills on a .405 hitting percentage (19K-2E-42TA) against a program that has earned at least a share of the last three CACC South Division titles.
 
Sporting teal uniforms in support of ovarian cancer awareness month, Chestnut Hill College (3-10, 3-0) served immediate notice that this edition of their series with Wilmington University (8-5, 2-1) would be different, firing home kills on each of the first three points and jumping in front, 8-2. From there the teams engaged in a back-and-forth tug-of-war that featured seven ties and two lead changes. Knotted at 18-apiece, the Griffins took the next four points and closed the set with a booming kill from junior middle hitter Emily Koehler (Bath, Pa.), 25-23.
 
  
The home side started to run away with the second set, going ahead 15-5 on the strength of service runs from junior outside hitter Madison McBride (Long Beach, Calif.), senior defensive specialist Meghan Chiovitti (Brighton, Colo.), and sophomore defensive specialist Peyton Reno (Wilmington, Del.). But the Wildcats quickly charged back, erasing a 22-14 deficit to pull even at 23-all and 24-all. That's when Biro put the set to bed with back-to-back kills, 26-24, setting Chestnut Hill College on the winning path.
 
Wilmington University had other ideas, however. The visitors seized an 11-2 lead on the way to a 25-20 third-set victory, keeping their hopes alive. The Wildcats led, 9-5, in the fourth, but Chiovitti served up a pair of aces during a 5-0 run, 10-9. That set off another seesaw battle, highlighted by seven ties and four lead changes. The last gave the Griffins a 13-12 edge, and they slowly pulled away from there, ultimately putting an exclamation point on the match with consecutive kills from sophomore middle hitter Melissa Shunk (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) and McBride, 25-19.
 
Three Wildcats ended on double-digit kills, led by a game-high 20 from junior outside hitter Allison Briley (Monroeville, Pa.), who added 22 digs. Senior opposite Alex Siolos (East Moriches, N.Y.) finished with 18 kills and 22 digs, and senior outside hitter Kaitlin DiGiacinto (Glen Burnie, Md.) chipped in 10 kills. Freshman setter Miranda Shaw (Boston, Va.) facilitated the offense with 41 assists.
 
Biro's career night led a number of impressive performances for the Griffins, who upended Philadelphia University for the first time in program history on this night a year ago. The senior hustled her way to a career-high 10 digs for her first double-double and added three block assists for 20.5 points. McBride racked up 13 kills and 16 digs, Koehler pounded home 11 kills, and Chiovitti led five players in double figures with a career-best 21 digs. She also recorded six aces, easily a career landmark. Freshman setter Kennedy Sutton (Chesapeake, Va.) handed out 51 assists, matching the second-highest single-game total in Griffin National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II history.
 
The Griffins now head to Bloomfield College for a pair of matches on Saturday, September 26. Chestnut Hill College takes on the Bears in a CACC contest at 12:00 p.m., followed by a date with Southern Connecticut State University at 2:00 p.m.