Wilkes Women's Volleyball Sweeps Wilson to Earn Tri-Match Split
READING, PA – Wilkes University women's volleyball went on the road to Reading as they had a tri-match between Albright College and Wilson College. The Colonels would fall in the first game to Lions 3-1 (14-25, 25-17, 23-25, 12-25) but would bounce back and sweep the Phoenix in the second game (25-12, 25-13, 25-8).
Wilkes would improve their record to 3-10 on the season, while the host Albright gets two wins and is now 9-3 on the season and Wilson would fall to 0-13.
The first game saw Wilkes and Albright compete. The first set the Colonels get down early 5-2, but get the next three points from Sierra Hines (Wilkes-Barre, PA/Holy Redeemer) and Alexis Reedy (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra Area) kills. The Lions would get into their pace and go on a 10-2 run to give them the lead 15-7. The Colonels would try and crawl their way back from three Nicole Fitzpatrick (New Hampton, NY/Minisink Valley) kills, but Albright would end them earning the last six points in the set to give Albright a 25-14 victory in set one.
Wilkes decided to get on a roll themselves early on, as the Colonels scored the first five points and go on a 9-3 run. Kelsey Carroll (Jim Thorpe, PA/Jim Thorpe) and Lylah Oswald (Wyalusing, PA/Wyalusing) would get service aces on that run to help Wilkes take an early lead. Both teams would get three straight points each and keep the game back and forth, with the Lions slowly crawling back. Wilkes would get a 23-13 lead, but the Lions would earn four straight points to be behind 23-17. After a serving error and a Carroll kill, the Colonels would take the second set and tie the series 1-1 going into set three.
The third set would see the Colonels take an early lead over Albright 7-5, with Hines and Hope Ousey (Exton, PA/Henderson) get kills while Carroll got a block. The Lions would go on a 11-3 run and take the lead 16-10. Colonels would try and fight back by getting three straight points from a Hines kill and Alexa Cassel (Mount Joy, PA/Lower Dauphin) service ace. Both teams kept trading points, but Albright hold their lead and extend it to 23-17 near the end of the third set. Wilkes would get six of the last eight points, but the Lions would hold onto the third set 25-23.
The fourth set saw Albright take the first four points and go on a 15-5 run. Both teams would get four straight points each, with kills from Emily Lass (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) and Jenna Baron (Nanticoke, PA/Greater Nanticoke Area). The Lions would not let up with their attack and would down the Colonels 25-12 in the fourth set and take the series.
Fitzpatrick led the Colonels with 11 kills in the series, while earning three blocks. Ousey would finish second with eight kills. Cassel earned 33 assists during the series, adding three services aces as well along with Oswald and Emily Gentzel (Yaphank, NY/Bellport).
The second game saw the Colonels go against Wilson. The first set saw both teams trade points early, with Wilkes having an early edge 7-5 before taking four straight points to extend their lead. After the Phoenix got their own point, the Colonels would get eight straight points, getting a block from Ousey and Allison Murie (Mays Landing, NJ/Oakcrest) while Lass got a kill during that stretch. The Colonels and the Phoenix would trade six points down the final stretch, with Wilkes ultimately taking the first set 25-12.
The second set would see the Colonels earn the first five points of the game, with three straight Fitzpatrick kills to start it off for Wilkes. Wilson would get six straight points and take the lead over Wilkes. The Colonels would get a second run, as they outscored the Phoenix 9-2 to retake the lead. Wilson would once more get three straight points, but Wilkes ended the set on a 11-2 run with Fitzpatrick, Baron, and Ally Sheridan (Hanover Township, PA/Hanover) getting kills to finish the second set 25-13.
The third set saw a similar display as in the second, as Wilkes earned 14 of the first 16 points in the game, where Hines and Oswald had multiple kills during that stretch. Wilson would only get two straight points during this series as Wilkes would keep their foot on the gas pedal and take the third set and series 25-8.
Fitzpatrick led the Colonels again with another 11 kills in this series. Oswald had five service aces in the series while adding five kills as well. Carroll earned a career-high 17 assists in the series, adding two blocks and a service ace as well.
Wilkes will stay on the road, as they head to Arcadia in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom play on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.
