WILKES-BARRE - The Wilkes University women's volleyball team defeated both Rutgers-Newark and St. Joseph's University Brooklyn by scores of 3-2 and 3-0 in their first tri-match of the 2025 season.
Wilkes 3, Rutgers-Newark 2
Rutgers-Newark took the opening set by a score of 25-23 thanks to a huge early run and clutch plays at the very end. With the score tied 2-2 early, the Raiders went on a seven-point run to give them a commanding 9-2 lead. Both teams went back and forth from there until the visitors led 23-17, then the Colonels reeled off six straight points to tie it up. However, Rutgers-Newark bounced back with back-to-back kills from Shayla Moody to close out the set win and give them a 1-0 lead.
Both teams kept it close past the halfway point of the second set with the score tied 15-15, but the Colonels scored four in a row to give them a 19-15 lead behind kills from Mia Leon (Ponce, PR/Caribbean) and Ally Sheridan (Hanover Township, PA/Hanover Area). Wilkes kept that four point lead to reach set point, where Leon notched her fourth kill of the set to win it for the Colonels 25-20.
In set three, Rutgers-Newark led 8-5, but the Colonels scored four of the next five points to even it up 9-9. Later on they took their first lead of the set at 16-15 because of back-to-back kills by Ava Wahlers (Coudersport, PA/Coudersport) and an attack error by the Raiders, but the Raiders scored six of the next seven points to lead 21-17 late. The Colonels once again rallied to tie it up at 22, but better execution by the Raiders late gave them a 25-23 set win and a 2-1 set lead.
Wilkes started the fourth set on fire with a 9-1 lead behind five kills from Leon, but the Raiders kept within striking distance to make the score 18-13. However, the Colonels immediately strung together six straight points to reach set point at 24-13, and Wahlers forced a fifth set with another kill after back-to-back points by Rutgers-Newark.
The Raiders in set five led 5-3 early, but five straight points by the Colonels, led by Leon and Abby Dornblaser (Gilbertsville, PA/Boyertown), gave them an 8-5 advantage. The Colonels kept that edge at 11-7, but the Raiders scored seven of the next eight points to reach match point at 14-12. Leon kept Wilkes alive with another kill, and then a service ace by Sheridan tied it up. With the score tied 17-17, another Dornblaser kill brought it to match point for Wilkes, and then Wahlers finished the job with a block to complete the 19-17 set five win.
In her first collegiate match, Leon led the Colonels in kills (25) and tied for the team lead in digs (22). Sheridan and Dornblaser also put up big numbers as Sheridan finished with 12 kills and nine digs, while Dornblaser finished with 10 kills and 11 digs. Kendra Kap led the Colonels in assists with 52 and racked up 15 digs as well.
Wilkes 3, St. Joseph's University Brooklyn 0
After going five sets with the Raiders, the Colonels took care of the Bears much more efficiently, winning all three sets.
Set one started out close with Wilkes leading 7-6 early, but they scored seven of the next eight points to lead 14-7 thanks to a balanced offense attack. That lead soon ballooned up to nine following back-to-back service aces by Lauren Lokuta (Mountain Top, PA/Holy Redeemer), and from there the Colonels closed out a 25-16 first set victory.
The Colonels picked up right where they left off in the second set, leading 7-2, but the Bears went on an 8-3 run to tie it at 10. Neither side pulled away as the score reached 16-16, but Wilkes scored four straight points thanks to kills from Leon, Dornblaser, and Wahlers to make it 20-16. The Bears did cut the deficit to one after that, making it 24-23 Colonels, but an attack error on the Bears gave the Colonels a 25-23 set win and a 2-0 set lead.
In the final set, the Bears took an early 6-5 lead, but then the Colonels went on a 10-1 run to make it 15-7. From there they never looked back as Wilkes at one point led by as much as 12. The Colonels finished off another 25-16 set win and completed the sweep.
Leon once again led the team in kills with 12 and was third on the team in digs with 10. Sheridan and Dornblaser both finished with eight kills, with Sheridan also leading the team in digs with 16. Again Kalp led the team with 19 assists.
The Colonels start off the regular season with a record of 2-0, and will travel on the road for their next match of the season. They'll take on Neumann at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 3.
