Wilkes Women's Volleyball Begins Shay Era with Comeback Win over Albright
WILKES-BARRE – There was magic in the Marts Center on Tuesday evening as the Wilkes University women's volleyball team came from behind in the fifth set to defeat Albright 3-2, with Abby Dornblazer's service ace securing their first win of the season and first under new Head Coach
Zach Shay '24.
After a back-and-forth affair in the first set that saw the Colonels lose 25-21, the home team responded in the second by going up 8-4 on the Lions early thanks to two kills from
Mia Leon (Ponce, PR/Caribbean) and service aces by both Dornblazer and
Maddy Durfee (Attica, NY/Attica). Albright stormed back with an 8-1 run that saw them take the lead, and the two teams traded blows with multi-point runs on both sides.
A 7-1 swing for the Colonels put them ahead 21-19, and a final 4-2 push saw them take the set with kills by Durfee and
Kendra Kalp (Somerset, PA/Rockwood).
The Colonels kept hot in the third set with a dominant 25-14 win, including a nine-point rally with a 15-12 lead that busted the set wide open. A kill by Leon saw the set off, pushing the team closer to victory.
The visitors responded in kind with a blowout set victory of their own, including an 8-0 run to close the set and take a 25-13 win. That momentum continued into the deciding fifth set, taking firm control with a 7-1 lead.
Wilkes slowly chipped away at the deficit, scoring nine of the next 14 points to close the gap down to 12-10. A kill by Dornblazer and a rotation error by the Lions saw the Colonels tie the game as the crowd roared, closing the comeback with a 3-1 run finished off by a Dornblazer ace.
Leon led the Colonels with 11 kills, followed by Dornblazer with 10. The sophomore duo also tied for a team high three aces each, while
Emilee Atherholt (Coudersport, PA/Coudersport) tallied three blocks.
Rachael Anderson (Canmore, AB/West Island College) provided a team-high 16 assists, while Kalp held down the defensive end with 13 digs.
Lily Donovan was all over the court for Albright, leading the team in kills (11) and digs (13). Paige Lipp led all players with 31 assists in the loss.
Wilkes returns to action on Thursday, September 3 as they head to Madison, N.J. to face FDU-Florham in the team's first road contest of the year.
