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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – In a thrilling five-set match with momentum swing after momentum swing, the Kutztown University women's volleyball team was finally overcome by Wilmington (Del.) on Tuesday night at Keystone Arena.
After set scores of 22-25, 22-25, 27-25 and 25-18, no one was surprised when the fifth set came down to the wire. KU (2-5) rallied from a 9-4 deficit to come all the way back and even take the lead, 11-10, when back-to-back-to-back kills by
Jessica Howe (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg Area),
Brittney Moyer (Orwigsburg, Pa./Blue Mountain (Lock Haven)) and
Zandria Zielinski (York, Pa./York Catholic) were followed by a Wilmington error.
Wilmington (3-6) then took the next two points to momentarily take the lead back before Kutztown tied it up at 12 and 13. A Golden Bear error gave the WU a match point though, and the Wildcats converted with a service ace by Megan Ward.
Kutztown's 63 kills on Tuesday were its most in a match since recording 68 in a five-set win over West Chester on Oct. 9, 2012, which was also the last time KU broke the 60-assist barrier in a match, also accomplished by the Golden Bears tonight.
Anna Conti (Grove City, Ohio/Grove City) had the majority of those assist, finishing with 52 to best her previous career-high by one. She added 13 digs for her third double-double of the season.
Also with a career-high on the night was Zielinski as she played a major part in Kutztown's offensive attack with 15 kills on .324 hitting, four more than her previous best in a collegiate match.
Moyer led KU with 23 kills, her second-highest total of the year, which also placed her in the top-20 for a single match in program history. She too finished with a double-double, her sixth in seven matches, tallying a season-high 17 digs to fall just two shy of her career-high.
Madison Brake (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Bishop Hartley) was just one dig shy of a career-best, leading all players with 27. Freshman
Taylor Brown (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern) paced Kutztown with four block assists, adding six kills to record a season-high in both categories.
Carly Shortridge (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) led the match with three services aces, tying for her most in a match for her career.
KU had no answer for Allison Briley, who set a Wilmington school-record with 31 kills. She did so while also hitting .409 and leading the Wildcats with 19 digs.
It seemed as it was destined to be Kutztown's night early when the Golden Bears took the first set by scoring 12 of the final 13 points. Down 21-14, Moyer led the way with seven kills in the stretch, including capping a run of 11 points in a row with a kill to make it 24-21. Wilmington finally broke the streak the next point, but again it was Moyer who finished off the impressive turnaround with yet another kill.
KU carried that momentum into the second to take a second straight set, 25-22, scoring six of the final nine points to build a commanding two-set lead.
The third set played out nearly identically to the first, with Kutztown again making a late charge. This time trailing 21-16, the Golden Bears fought all the way back to tie it up at 24 when Moyer kills sandwiched a Wilmington error. The two teams traded the next two points before the Wildcats managed to extend the match with back-to-back kills from Briley.
It was all WU in the fourth as the Wildcats broke a 10-10 tie with an 8-2 run to ultimately pull away and force the decisive fifth set.
Kutztown wraps up nonconference play this weekend, traveling to the Urbana Tournament for four matches on Friday and Saturday. The Golden Bears first test comes on Friday at 3 p.m. against Malone.
