Wilkes Women's Volleyball Remains Undefeated with Hard-Fought Sweep of Lancaster Bible College
WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University women's volleyball team remained white-hot on Thursday night, coming from behind to win two sets in a sweep of Lancaster Bible College at the Marts Center to move to 6-0 on the year.
The Colonels set the tempo early, taking an 8-1 lead in the first set with a trio of aces served up by
Abby Dornblaser (Gilbertsville, PA/Boyertown) and a trio of kills by
Mia Leon (Ponce, PR/Caribbean). Momentum then swung in the favor of the visitors, who slowly chipped away at the Colonel lead and tied the set at 18. A kill and an ace from
Kendra Kalp (Somerset, PA/Rockwood) then sparked a three-point rally to put the navy and gold ahead for good as they finished the set off with kills by Leon and Kalp to take a 25-21 first set.
Set two remained an even contest early, deadlocked at 10. Both teams traded points before the Colonels went on a four-point run to establish control 19-14. The Chargers fought back to re-take the set lead late, outscoring Wilkes 9-3 to go up 23-22. With their backs against the wall, the Colonels scored three-straight points to steal the set thanks to a pair of kills from Leon and an ace from
Annalyse Santowasso (Middlesex, NJ/Rutgers Prep) to seal a 25-23 set victory.
Both squads continued to trade blows in the third set, with Lancaster Bible holding a late 22-20 advantage. A Charger service error on the next point began a five-point rally for the Colonels that sent the Marts Center into a frenzy, as kills by Kalp,
Emilee Atherholt (Coudersport, PA/Coudersport), and finally Leon saw a resilient Colonel squad take the match 25-22.
Leon led all players with 18 kills, registering double-digit kills in five of the team's six games this season.
Maddy Durfee (Attica, NY/Attica) led the team with 17 assists, followed by
Rachael Anderson (Canmore, AB/West Island College) with 14. On the defensive end, Kalp led the team with 13 digs while Santowasso finished with 11.
Wilkes now hits the road after a pair at home, as they face Randolph-Macon College and Stockton University in a tri-match hosted at Stockton. Those games are scheduled for 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. respectively.
