Wilkes Women's Volleyball Falls 3-1 to Misericordia
WILKES-BARRE, PA – The Wilkes University Colonels continued their Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom slate by hosting the Misericordia Cougars at the Marts Center Tuesday night.
The Colonels (7-8, 1-2 MACF) took the third set from the Cougars (8-8, 2-2) to force a fourth set, but was unable to take another set to extend the match to a fifth set and fell 3-1 (21-25, 15-25, 25-23, 15-25)
The Colonels took an early 5-2 lead with help from a pair of service aces from first year setter
Alexa Cassel (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin), but the Cougars grabbed momentum in the middle of the set with a 8-1 run to grab a 14-9 lead. A 7-2 run by the Colonels clawed the set back to a tie, but a 6-1 run by the Cougars put the 25-21 set effectively out of reach. A 6-2 run by the Colonels started the second set strong, but an 11-2 set let the Cougars put the set out of reach at 16-11 and never let up the pressure.
The Navy and Gold would prove resilient, battling back and forth with the Cougars early in the third set which saw neither team take a more than a three-point lead. A 4-0 run gave the Colonels a 14-11 lead, but a 6-2 Cougars run afterwards let them take a 17-16 edge. A 4-1 run by the Navy and Gold gave them a 20-18 lead, but the Cougars responded in kind to take a 22-21 lead. The Colonels replied with yet another 4-1 run to force a fourth set. The Colonels struggled and never led in the set, dropping the match 3-1.
Junior opposite hitter
Kelsey Carroll (Jim Thorpe, PA/Jim Thorpe) set her season and career high with 12 kills to lead the Colonels. First year setter
Jaclyn Rawa (West Chester, PA/Henderson) posted a career-high 20 assists. Annika Massa fueled the Cougars offense with 39 assists, while Fiona Pyfer had 17 kills and five blocks on the evening. Faith Merritt contributed 14 kills and three aces.
The Colonels travel out to Aston, Pa. to play Neumann University Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in Aston, Pa. The Navy and Gold are 0-4 in the live stats era against the Knights, and lost the last match in 2019 at Neumann 3-0.
