NEWARK, Del. -- Looking to break up their CACC losing streak, Post University's Women's Volleyball ventured to Delaware this morning to square up against conference rivals, Wilmington University Wildcats. After an extra match-point first set won by the Wildcats (27-25), the Eagles continued to battle but narrowly dropped the second frame, 23-25. However Post turned it up a notch in the third to pull out their first set win, 27-25 to stay alive for another set before the Wildcats pounced in the last frame, 25-13 and eventual 3-1 victory.

THE BASICS

Post University 1, Wilmington University 3

Post University (2-12, 2-3 CACC)
Wilmington University (8-7, 2-2 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Wilmington got off to a hot start, securing a trio of points to lead off the game before going ahead, 10-6 to force a Post timeout. The Eagles were able to cut their deficit by one (7-10) after the short break, but the Wildcats went on a four-point rally to take a seven-point lead (14-7) before Tamara Radovanov smashed down a kill to get the Eagles going again. A few points later, Post turned the tables, going on a six-point run thanks to a trio of kills topped off by two service aces from Izabella Rae to take their first edge of the game, 19-18. However, the Wildcats answered back, eventually regaining the lead (22-21) before a kill from Brandt knotted it up at 22 followed by another from Rae to reclaim the advantage (23-22). Next, an ace from Radovanov brought the Eagles within one point of victory but Wilmington battled back with three straight points to take the first frame, 27-25. 

The Wildcats brought their momentum over to the next set, immediately grabbing a four-point lead (4-0) before Colleen Romero put an end to their rally with a kill. But Wilmington was able to hold the lead until the Eagles took the edge, 9-8. The squads ping-ponged advantages with the Wildcats holding tight to their edge until the match-point (24-21). The Eagles attempted to battle back as Romero and Brandt secured back to back kills to come within one (23-24) before the Wildcats locked in the second set, 25-23 to go up, 2-0.

It was deja vu as Wilmington rattled off five points before Post was able to get on the board in the third. A few points later, the Wildcats turned on the thrusters to go on a six-point streak to make it 13-4 but the Eagles slowly chipped away, grabbing seven points broken up by two Wildcat kills to shrink their deficit to four (15-11). After a Wildcat timeout, the teams traded points before a Caley Harper kill fired up the Eagles to grab another six points in a row (22-20) thanks to four kills and two aces. The Wildcats were able to get one point back after calling a timeout, however Post stayed strong offensively, coming within two points of their first set win (23-21). However, the Wildcats quickly flipped the script, bringing the game to match-point in their favor (24-23) but the Eagles were able to go ahead with back to back points (25-24) before closing out the set with a pair of kills from the hot hands of Brandt (27-25). 

In the fourth, the Wildcats took the 5-0 lead once again before going ahead 20-11 to take their almost double-digit and biggest lead of the game, 20-11. The Eagles fought for two more points with double kills to make it 13-20 but the Wildcats were determined to put it away, 25-13 and take the 4-1 victory over the Eagles.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Despite the final score, both squads have an even 50 kills each.
• Junior Hannah Brandt led the Eagles with a career-high 17 kills while Izabella Rae recorded a season-high 28 assists in the effort.
• Caley Harper notched her seventh consecutive double-digit kill game, finishing the match with 12 kills as well as continuing her streak of double-digit digs in the past three games. 

WHO'S NEXT
Post University continues CACC action on Tuesday, October 3 when they host the Felician University Falcons at 7:00PM at their very own Drubner Center in Waterbury, Connecticut. Previously against the Falcons, the Eagles are 30-6 overall with a current win streak of two games.