RICHMOND, Indiana – The Wilmington College volleyball team closed out the 2018 Quaker Classic by splitting a pair of matches, defeating Boyce College 3-2 (25-10, 12-25, 25-11, 27-29, 15-11) and falling to Crowley's Ridge College 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-23, 26-24) on Saturday.
In the victory over Boyce, Wilmington tallied 15 kills and zero attack errors on 27 attack attempts for an .556 attack percentage and an easy set on victory. Set two was quite the reverse, however, as the Quakers managed just two kills and 16 attack errors while the Bulldogs hit a .160 clip to take set two.
Wilmington rebounded for a set three victory, but faltered in a close set four that went past the 25-point mark. Luckily, the Quakers were up to the task in the fifth set, edging Boyce 15-11 despite hitting a negative attack percentage.
Jordan Gregory led everyone offensively with 21 kills on 77 attack attempts. Rebekah Bolen back up Gregory for Boyce with eight kills.
Wilmington featured mainly a three-headed attack as Mariella Szrom, Jillian Wesco and Taylor McCuistion tallied 29 of the Quakers' 33 kills as a team. Szrom led the way with 11 kills while McCuistion hit a .227 clip. Setter Jacie Koontz dished out 19 assists while libero Karley Schlensker had 34 digs to go along with Wesco's 25.
"Boyce did a great job of thowing different looks at us," Head Coach Tim O'Brien said. "In the end, I thought we were able to make the correct adjustments and win the match."
As a team, Wilmington finished with 7.5 blocks while Boyce had five.
In the loss to Crowley's Ridge, Wescoe proved to be the to go-to offensive threat as the sophomore finished with 16 kills on 39 attack attempts. Amber Rox also turned her best offensive match of the season, tallying 10 kills on 38 attack attempts.
Grace Ewing dished out 22 assists while Schlensker had 40 digs. McCuistion the defense effort in the front row with a solo block and a block assist.
Ashley Pyeatt and Olivia Deckelman combined for 31 kills for Crowley's Ridge. Kaitlin Perkins led the back row with 33 digs.
"We started quickly in the second match after coming off our first victory of the season,"said O'Brien. "The next three sets could have gone either way as both teams hung with each other point for point."
Wilmington (1-6) hosts Mount St. Joseph University in a non-conference match on Tuesday, Sept. 11. First serve from Hermann Court is slated for 7 p.m.
