Catholic University of America

GLENSIDE, Pa. - The Catholic volleyball team returned to the Alumni Courts on Saturday afternoon for day two at the Arcadia Quad. The Cardinals split matches on the day, first defeating Muhlenberg 3-2, before falling to Arcadia 1-3 in their second match.

Match One: Catholic 3, Muhlenberg 2

In their first match on Saturday afternoon, Catholic faced off against Muhlenberg at 3 p.m. After dropping the first set, Catholic clawed its way back, to take the match, 3-2.

The Mules opened the scoring in the match, scoring on a service error from the Cardinals, and Catholic put their first point on the board in the same fashion. Muhlenberg added another point before Catholic went on scoring run, going up 6-2. The Mules began to chip away at the Cardinals' advantage, tying the score and battling with the Cardinals before taking a significant lead. The Mules ultimately took the first set, 25-23

In set two, Catholic opened the scoring and began to battle with the Mules. The score remained close, but the Cardinals managed to hold a three-point lead over Muhlenberg for a majority of the match. Later on, the Mules were able to close the gap to two, but Catholic kept building on their lead, and secured the win, 25-20.

The Cardinals dominated in set three, taking down the Mules by more than 10 points. Catholic recorded an impressive attack percentage of 0.409 compared to Muhlenberg's 0.107. The score was close early in the third, but the Cardinals began to run away with the lead, and secured the set 25-14.

After winning two straight sets, Catholic dropped a neck-and-neck set four to the Mules, forcing a fifth set. Muhlenberg earned the first point in the final set, but Catholic responded in the next play. The score was tied at four points apiece before the Cardinals began to run away with it, taking a substantial lead, going up 9-5. Catholic continued to build on their lead, securing the fifth-set victory against the Mules, 15-7.

Julia Raab and Kate Kozlowski made great contributions in the final set, both making two kills. 

Catholic had an impressive showing against Muhlenberg, recording 53 kills and Muhlenberg with 51. Catholic had nine blocks to the Mules 5. Individual Cardinals also had the opportunity to showcase their skills, Raab had 13 kills in match on and Kozlowski followed with eight. Maddie Wilkey and Laci Freitas each had seven kills on the day while Marin Stensrud led the team with 15 digs.

Match Two: Catholic 1, Arcadia 3

After defeating Muhlenberg in set one, Catholic faced off against Arcadia for their second match of the day.

Both teams began to find their groove early in the first quarter, battling to get a hold on the lead. After the score was tied at eight, Arcadia went on to score 10 straight points. Catholic made attempts to comeback, but Arcadia secured the first set, 25-12.

The Knights opened the scoring in quarter two, but the Cardinals bounced back with a strong performance taking a five-point lead during the set. Arcadia evened the score at 20 points, but Catholic wasn't done battling, winning the set 25-23 and tying the match at one set apiece.

After taking the second set, Catholic remained within striking distance throughout the third. Arcadia ultimately claimed the set, 25-22, to regain the lead, two sets to one. 

In the final set, the Cardinals were determined to send the Knights to a set five. Catholic fought to keep the score tight, staying within three for majority of the set. But Arcadia managed to secured crucial points late in the set, securing their victory in set four 25-21.

The Cardinals were led offensively by Maddie Wilkey, who posted a team-high 11 kills while hitting an impressive .529 on the afternoon. Wilkey also anchored Catholic at the net with five blocks. Kozlowski added eight kills while hitting .444 and recorded four blocks.

Raab contributed seven kills and nine digs, while Ava Borcky added six kills for the Cardinals.

Early in the match, Anna Maria Carella reached a major milestone of 1,000 assists during her career. Carella finished with a team-high 18 assists. Kate Berra added 12 assists and six digs, while Alejandra Garcia led the squad 12 digs and recorded a pair of service aces.

With this split, Catholic improves their record to 3-1 overall. Up next, they will host Stevenson for their home opener on Tuesday, September 8. The match is set for 7 p.m. at Franny Murray Court.