Tuesday evening, the Lady Wildcats took an exciting win over the Johnson C. Smith University Golden Bulls, winning the match 3 games to 2.
JWU began game one with strong net play, defense and was tied throughout the game several times. Wildcats Taylee Tellechea and Lauren Cordts had all-around strong play throughout the game. JWU opened with a 6-point lead and eventually took the game 25 to 17.
Johnson C. Smith University responded in game two and picked up their aggression at the net. After being tied at 8, the Golden Bulls went on a 4-0 run. JCSU never looked back and took game two 25 to 14.
The Wildcats opened up game three with an early five-point lead. However, JCSU responded by winning some of the best rallies of the match, regaining the momentum. Both teams would go back and forth through the latter portion of the game. Fortunately, JWU pulled ahead late in the game with impressive defense and aggressive net play and take game three 27 to 25 on a service ace by Stephanie Harris.
JWU started strong again in game four, but serving allowed JCSU back into the game. The Golden Bulls opened a four-point lead. JWU closed the gap with great team defense and attacking. Freshman Lauren Cordts demonstrated strong play at the net with a string of kills and blocks to lead the Wildcats. This game went into extra points as well, but this time JCSU came out on top 26-24. This would even the match at two games apiece.
The Wildcats opened with an aggressive style of play and jumped out to a three-point lead in the fifth and final game of the match thanks to solid backrow play from Emily Kirchner, Chelsi Gallagher, Stephanie Harris, and Tori Dublino. JWU eliminated their service errors and maintained their aggressiveness at the net, taking the final game 15 to 11.
Overall, there were numerous Wildcats with standout stats for the match. Cordts finished with an impressive total of 19 kills. Tellechea had 12 kills and 6 blocks. Kaitlin Kuntz had 25 assists. Emily Kirchner and Stephanie Harris had 2 aces apiece, and Tori Dublino had 6 aces throughout the match.
Coach Phillips was all smiles at the end of the match. She said, "We were successful because everything came together for us this evening. We were aggressive at the net with hitting and blocking, and our defense defended our side of the court. I have been waiting for our team to pull together like this and prove what Johnson & Wales Volleyball is about."
The Wildcats will travel to Catawba Valley Community College on Thursday, September 22nd to take on the Buccaneers.
