WILKES-BARRE - The Wilkes University women's volleyball team finished out their tri-match at the Marts Center on Saturday in spectacular fashion, ending a six match winless streak with a thrilling five set game against John Jay College (21-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-17, 21-19) after falling to Landmark Conference rival Drew University in the day's first match in straight sets (17-25, 16-25, 14-25).
 
At the end of the day's action the Colonels moved to 8-14 on the season and 0-5 in conference play, Drew improved to 7-12 overall and 4-3 in conference play, while John Jay fell to 15-4 on the year.
 
The Colonels match against John Jay started with two early runs that kept the game even at 6-6. The turning point for the Bloodhounds came with the score at 18-15, as they put together a four-point run that put them ahead 22-15. Wilkes fought hard, but were unable to finish the comeback and dropped the first set 25-21.
 
The second set remained close, once again teams traded three-point runs to keep the score close at 7-7. The Colonels then leaped out to a massive lead with three runs of three points or more, outscoring John Jay 14-4 to take a 21-11 lead. The Bloodhounds responded with a four point run immediately after, but it wasn't enough as the Colonels took the second set off of three consecutive  errors 25-17.
 
John Jay opened the third set strong, taking a 7-3 lead. Two four-point runs over the next 12 points allowed the Bloodhounds to extend their lead to 15-7. With the score at 20-12, Wilkes stormed back with a rally to close the gap to 23-21, but two John Jay kills over the last three sets gave them the set win 25-22.
 
The fourth set was another close affair, with the Bloodhounds taking a slight 5-4 lead. A four point run off of three errors gave Wilkes an 8-5 lead, and they opened the gap with a five point run not long after led by Ava Wahlers (Coudersport, PA/Coudersport) that gave the Colonels a 14-7 cushion. They would not relinquish the lead across the set, forcing the fifth and final set with a four point run and a Sierra Hines (Wilkes-Barre, PA/Holy Redeemer) kill to win 25-17.
 
The final set saw the Colonels once again facing a deficit 7-4, before a four point run of John Jay errors saw the Colonels take the lead into the side switch 8-7. The Bloodhounds took a 14-13 lead late, before the Colonels forced extra points with a Hines kill to tie the game. Both teams dramatically traded points back and forth fighting to stay alive in the match, but with the score at 19-19, a kill by Alexa Cassel (Mount Joy, PA/Lower Dauphin) and a crucial block by Hines and Wahlers forced a game-ending attack error that gave the Colonels a massive victory.
 
Hines, Wahlers and Hope Ousey (Exton, PA/Henderson) led Wilkes with nine kills each, a career-best number for the first year Wahlers. Not only was Hines a part of the game-winning block, she was the life of the Colonel block party and set a new career best with eight blocks. Rachael Anderson (Canmore, AB/West Island College) led the team in assists with 20, and Olivia Marsh (East Hampton, CT/East Hampton) led in digs with 14. Sophomore Ally Sheridan (Hanover Township, PA/Hanover Area) also registered a career-best in kills with five.

Josanne Lewis led John Jay in kills with 14, and Meghan Smith led in assists and digs with 31 and 15 respectively.
 
Prior to this game, Drew defeated John Jay in a neutral site match 3-0.
 
Wilkes opened the day in Landmark play against the Rangers, who pulled out to an early lead in the first set. The turning point for the Rangers came with the score 11-10 in favor of Wilkes, before two six point runs broke the set wide open for Drew, who went on to win the set 25-17.
 
The Rangers carried that momentum into the second set, taking an early 8-2 lead that the Colonels were unable to recover from as Drew snatched the set win 25-16.
 
Wilkes kept the third set close early, only trailing by a point 8-7, but a late six point run by Drew added to their 14-10 lead and saw them take the third set and the match 25-14.
 
Cassel led the Colonels with five kills and 11 assists, while Ali Yordy (Fairfield, PA/Fairfield Area) led the defensive effort with 14 digs.
 
Teeya Desgoutte and Emily Shirk led Drew with nine kills. Alyssa Rachwall led in assists with 31, while Lauren Gaza led in digs with 18.
 
The Colonels get a well-earned rest before hitting the road to face Goucher College in Landmark play on Friday, October 20 at 7:00 p.m.