Freshman Jillian Wesco recorded her third double-double of the season, and the second in the last three games, as the Wilmington College volleyball team recorded the 3-1 (25-17, 17-25, 26-24, 25-21) non-conference victory over UC-Clermont Friday at the Fred Raizk Arena in Hermann Court.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- With Wilmington trailing 20-17 in the fourth set, senior Becca Harting (Farmersville, OH/Valley View) served seven straight points to put the Fightin' Quakers on the brink of victory at 24-20. UC-Clermont briefly slowed the momentum, but a kill by Wesco (Troy, OH/Miami East) brought home the victory.
- Wilmington never trailed in the initial set in winning 25-17, and held a brief lead in losing the second set.
- The two teams battled furiously in the third and fourth sets, trading leads back and fourth. But, WC was able to make enough plays down the stretch to secure the victory.
- UC-Clermont scored seven of the first eight points in the third set, and appeared to have all the momentum – but the Fightin' Quakers stormed back to take a 10-9 lead. Six ties ensued, including at 24-all, before a kill by freshman Hannah Salyers (Monroe, OH/Monroe) gave WC the lead and a service ace by freshman Karley Schlensker (Fairfield, OH/Stephen T. Badin) sealed the victory with an ace.
- In a role reversal of the third set, Wilmington raced out to the early lead in the fourth before the Cougars stormed back. UCC went on a 9-1 spurt to take the lead and built its advantage to 20-16. Then, the sweet serving prowess of Harting took over, and Wilmington claimed victory.
- Wesco finished with 16 kills and 14 digs as five different players recorded double-figure digs. Schlensker led the way with 18, followed by 15 from sophomore Amber Rox (Lawrenceburg, IN/Lawrenceburg), 13 from freshman Lauryn Griewahn (Adrian, MI/Adrian) and 11 from Harting.
- Freshman Ariel Goforth (Memphis, TN/Bartlett) tallied nine kills.
- Sophomore Meghan Koch (Fayetteville, OH/Fayetteville Perry) led the way at the net with five block assists and one solo block. Freshman Taylor McCuiston (Troy, OH/Miami East) added three block assists, and Salyers chipped in with two block assists and a solo block.
- Griewahn tied a career-high with 38 assists, marking the fourth time she distributed at least 30 kills.
COACHES CORNER
"I thought we played very well, all-around volleyball," said Wilmington head coach Tim O'Brien. "I think we got a lot of contributions from multiple different players throughout match. Taylor (McCuiston), Jillian (Wesco) and Ariel (Goforth) all played well offensively. I thought defensively and in serve receive Amber (Rox) and Becca (Harting) played very well."
WHAT'S NEXT
Wilmington (4-9) won't have any time to savor the victory as the Fightin' Quakers host Westminster (10-1) 2 p.m. Saturday.
