Women's Volleyball Holds off Wilmington in Five-Set Thriller
WILMINGTON, Del.- Zoe Haines (York, Pa./York Suburban) led West Chester (16-5) with 18 kills while Abiah Lane (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) and CeCe Isenberg (Berwick, Pa/Berwick) added 12 and 11 to lead the Golden Rams to a 3-2 (25-21, 25-17, 17-25, 22-25, 15-11) victory over Wilmington (14-9) on Wednesday night. West Chester jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but Wilmington battled back and nearly stunned its visitors before a late-fifth set run lifted the Golden Rams to the 3-2 road victory.
The first set was close throughout, but West Chester used a late run to erase an early deficit and capture the set by a 25-21 final to take an early 1-0 lead in the match.
In the second set, West Chester got out to an early lead and used its early advantage to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-17 second-set victory.
With West Chester looking to close out its second three-set victory in as many nights, Wilmington captured the third set by a 25-17 final after a mid-set run and won a back-and-forth fourth set 25-22 to force a decisive fifth set.
The Golden Rams led early in the fifth set, leading at the changeover and eventually holding a 12-8 lead late in the set. Wilmington cut into the West Chester lead once more, but the Golden Rams closed out the match with a block by Maeve Gallagher (Pottstown, Pa./Pope John Paul II) and CeCe Isenberg (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) to win the fifth set 15-11 and earn a 3-2 victory over the upset-minded Wildcats.
Lacie Brown (Cochranville, Pa./Avon Grove) led West Chester in assists (54), digs (14), and aces (three). Elianna Freeman (Jersey Village, Tx./Jersey Village) added three aces of her own along with 11 digs and seven assists.
Julia Kwitchoff (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Wheatfield) tied with Gallagher for the team lead in blocks with four each.
Karla Nunez-Rivera led Wilmington in kills with 16, while Christine Covello led in assists with 28 to help keep the offense moving throughout the night. Covello was also second in blocks with four, trailing only Chelsea Blaine-Agett, who led all players with seven blocks.
West Chester hit .319 (70-19-160) in the victory, including a match-best .436 (19-2-39) in the second set victory, while Wilmington hit .242 (55-18-153), including a .500 (20-3-34) effort in its third set victory.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action next weekend against Shippensburg and Shepherd on Friday and Saturday to end October and begin November.
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