WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - Catholic continued its road stint on Saturday with a tri-match at the Marts Center, featuring Wilkes and Hunter. The Cardinals split on the day, falling to the Colonels in five sets before taking down the Hawks, 3-1.
Match One: Catholic 2, Wilkes 3
Catholic started strong against the Colonels, scoring five-straight in set one. They began with a point by way of attack error, then came a kill from
Laci Freitas.
Juliette Cummings capped their run with another kill for the Cardinals, before Wilkes managed to get on the board. The Colonels went on to score a few of their own, tying the score at eight, then growing a lead.
Wilkes held onto the momentum, going up by nine points over Catholic. But the Cardinals swung it back in their direction, with a late run to cut the deficit to three points. The Colonels locked in the last point, winning 25-21.
The Colonels had a strong performance in set two, taking down the Cardinals by 10 points as they were attempting to regroup. Freitas had two kills in the set, and
Julia Raab and
Maddie Wilkey also contributed some. But it wasn't enough, and Catholic fell in set two, 25-15.
The vibe shifted in set three, with the Cardinals down two sets, they remained in the fight to stay in the match. They had a stellar nine-point scoring streak, bringing the score to 20-9 in favor of Catholic. Raab,
Elianette Escalera and Wilkey all contributed kills during the run. The Cardinal defense held the Colonels to just four more points in the set, winning by 12 points, 25-13 as they head into the fourth.
Wilkes scored the first point in the fourth, but Catholic responded with six in a row to once again establish dominance. They held onto that lead, scoring in short bursts throughout the set, including a five-point run that was followed by four-straight, both beginning with a kill from Wilkey. The Cardinals added three in a row to end the set, with kills from Escalera and
Kate Kozlowski to score the final two points and win with a double figure lead, 25-15.
It was a battle in set five, as both teams looked to add the Conference win to their record. Catholic scored first, and Wilkes responded with two quick points. The match went point-for-point until the score was knotted at six, and the Colonels began to pull away. Wilkes took an eight-point lead, then solidified the win as they took the final point, winning 15-8.
Match Two: Catholic 3, Hunter 1
Set one saw a solid performance from the Cardinals despite coming off a lengthy battle against the Colonels. They notched 12 kills in the first, including three-straight from
Julia Raab, who went on to add two more in the set. Catholic steadily built a lead, and
Maddie Wilkey capped the set with a kill, and they took set one, 25-22.
The second set showcased more offensive prowess from the Cardinals as they once again held Hunter to just eight kills while they tallied 17. The battle continued, as the Hawks capitalized on Catholic errors to stay close by. Wilkey once again closed out the set with a kill, and Catholic won 25-21 to go up two sets to none.
Hunter shifted the momentum in its favor in set four, securing four early points. The Hawks then built their largest lead of the game, going up eight points over the Cardinals. Catholic attempted to chip away, with Cummings leading the charge with her three kills, but Hunter locked in the win, forcing a fourth set with a 25-17 victory.
The Cardinals sought revenge in the fourth, putting up eight early points to establish dominance. They tacked onto that lead with an eight-point run, Raab logging another four kills in the scoring frenzy. Catholic maintained that lead, and they held Hunter to just 13 points in the, winning the set 25-13 and the match 3-1.
Inside the Box Score
- Anna Maria Carella logged her 15th game with double-figure assists. She had 43 on the day, logging a season-high 25 against Hunter.
- Against Wilkes, Alejandra Garcia had an impressive 28 digs, her second-most in a game this season. She also tallied 15 against Hunter to bring her to 236 this season.
- Maddie Wilkey had 23 kills on the day, leading the team and recording an attack percentage of 0.420 at the tri-match. Raab followed with 20 total kills.
- Kate Kozlowski had a stellar day on both offense and defense, recording an attack percentage of .615, logging eight kills and three solo blocks against the Hawks. She also had six kills and four total blocks against the Colonels.
With this split, Catholic brings its record to 6-14 overall. Up next, the Cardinals will host Landmark opponent Goucher on Tuesday, October 13 at 7 p.m.
