NORTH MANCHESTER, IN – The Wilmington College volleyball team split a pair of matches to conclude their participation in the 2017 Manchester University Invitational Saturday.
GAME ONE: WILMINGTON 3, BOYCE 0 (25-15, 25-12, 25-20)
- Wilmington finished with 13 service aces in the victory as freshman Taylor McCuiston (Troy, OH/Miami East) led the way with five aces. McCuiston added six kills and eight digs in the victory.
- Freshman Karley Schlensker (Fairfield, OH/Stephen T. Badin) led the team with eight kills and 11 digs.
- Senior Kennedy Harshaw (Xenia, OH/Yellow Springs) added six kills for the Fightin' Quakers.
- Sophomore Alyssa McKenzie (Adrian, MI/Adrian) dished out 14 assists, while sophomore Summer Wilbur (Manchester, OH/Manchester) added a season-high 11 assists.
COACHES CORNER
"We played well in our first match today," said Wilmington head coach Tim O'Brien. "Our team struggled a little bit with executing our game plan, but we're able to do enough to come away with the win. We were able to get a lot of our players in and they were all very successful. I thought we did a great job winning while putting a new lineup on the court."
GAME TWO: GOVERNORS STATE 3, WILMINGTON 1 (23-25, 25-23, 27-25, 25-22)
- For the second straight match, Wilmington recorded a positive hitting percentage in every set.
- Freshman Ariel Goforth (Memphis, TN/Bartlett), who was named to the all-tournament team, finished with a career-high 21 kills. She added 15 digs for her first career double-double.
- Goforth wasn't the only player with a double-double as freshman Jillian Wesco (Troy, OH/Miami East) achieved the feat for the second time this season with 11 kills and 12 digs.
- As a team, the Fightin' Quakers totaled a season-high 12 blocks as Wesco and sophomore Meghan Koch (Fayetteville, OH/Fayetteville Perry) finished with three block assists each.
- Senior Becca Harting (Farmersville, OH/Valley View) added 14 digs.
- Freshman Lauryn Griewahn (Adrian, MI/Adrian) distributed a team-high 19 assists, while McKenzie added 14 assists.
COACHES CORNER
"Even though we lost our second match, that was the most competitive match we've playing in the few years I have been at Wilmington," said O'Brien. "Beside a couple mistakes here and there, I thought we played a very good match. Ariel had a great day attacking, and I thought our defense – both at the net and behind the block – did a fantastic job."
WHAT'S NEXT
Wilmington (3-8) returns home 7 p.m. Wednesday, hosting Earlham in the Quaker Bowl Series. Wilmington currently leads the annual rivalry series, 2-0.