WILKES-BARRE – After being washed out Wednesday night. the Wilkes University Colonels returned to the Marts Center for their first match since the 2019 season by hosting Clarks Summit Wednesday evening.
 
The Colonels (1-0) only trailed for a few points early in the third set to the Defenders (0-2) in the 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-9) affair.
 
First year outside hitter Alexis Reedy (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra Area) led the Colonels to an early 5-0 lead in the first set, contributing an early kill and service ace.  The Navy and Gold effectively put away the first set with a 6-1 run fueled by three aces from first year setter Alexa Cassel (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin) to take a 14-5 lead.  The Colonels and Defenders would trade points to wind down the 25-14 set.
 
A trio of service aces fueled an 8-2 advantage early in the second set for the Navy and Gold.  The Defenders fought back hard, a 7-1 run putting them within striking distance of Wilkes at 12-11.  The Colonels put together a furious rally to close out the set from there, with first year middle hitter Sierra Hines (Wilkes-Barre, PA/Holy Redeemer) contributing five service aces to lock down the 25-13 set, including four in a row.
 
The Defenders took their largest lead of the night at 3-1 in the opening stages of the final set, but the Colonels would swiftly shut the door on the set with a 15-2 run to put both the set and match out of reach.
 
The Colonels had 21 aces on the night, with Cassel finishing with eight and Hines six.  First year Jaclyn Rawa (West Chester, PA/Henderson) and Cassel split time at the setter position, with Rawa finishing with 15 assists and Cassel 11.  Outside hitters junior Jessica Salus (Shavertown, PA/Lake Lehman) and sophomore Hope Ousey (Exton, PA/Henderson) tied for the team lead with six kills, Salus tying her career high while Ousey set a new career high.  Reedy led all Colonels with 10 digs on the evening.
 
The young Navy and Gold look to continue their strong start to the 2021 campaign with a home tri-match Saturday.  They play host to Marywood at 10:00 a.m., before finishing the day with a 2:00 p.m. trimatch against Mount Saint Vincent.  The Colonels are 5-8 against Marywood in the live stats era, while this is the first time they'll meet Mount Saint Vincent in recent times.