(LANGHORNE, Pa.) – Sole possession of second place in the United East now belongs to Wilson as it defeated Cairn on the road Wednesday evening. The two squads came in with only one loss in the conference standings with two weeks to go in the regular season and the Phoenix were able to come out on top of the Highlanders with a four-set triumph.
Jackson Wolfe (FY, Abbottstown, Pa. / New Oxford) brushed with a triple-double once again as a force all over the court.
Jacob McCoy (Jr., York, Pa. / Spring Grove) also had double-figures on the attacking end while
Camden Sterner (So., Spring Grove, Pa. / Spring Grove) did so on the receiving side continuing his impressive play on the back row.
The Basics
Scores: Wilson 3, Cairn 1 (25-16, 26-28, 25-17, 25-19)
Venue: Mason Activity Center
Records: Wilson 10-12, 4-1 UE; Cairn 5-7, 2-2 UE
How It Happened
- Wilson opened up the night with a balanced attack with Wolfe, McCoy, Demetrius Simmons (Jr., Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Mechanicsburg), and Xavier Webber (Jr., Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin East) all scoring three kills in the opening set. Simmons helped create some early separation after a kill and a block paired with Ryan Koontz (So., York Haven, Pa. / Red Land) gave the Blue and White a 6-4 lead at the start of a 9-1 run. The Phoenix controlled play for the rest of the frame and allowed the Highlanders to register consecutive points just once the rest of the way en route to the 1-0 lead.
- Set 2 was the closest of the evening and needed extra points to declare a winner. Wilson mounted an incredible comeback after being down 21-13 to eventually tie it at 24-all. Wolfe sparked the rally with a pair of kills along with a block coupled with McCoy. After a Highlander point, Wolfe, McCoy and Webber all swung for kills to get within two at 22-20. Additional kills by McCoy, Koontz and Wolfe tied it. However they were never able to get over the hump as the Highlanders tallied a pair of kills down the stretch.
- The Phoenix bounced back in the third and was able to break Cairn's momentum after the hosts opened up a 3-0 lead with the next five points. Wolfe scored a pair on kills and teamed up with Simmons for another block as well. Additional kills from Wolfe and McCoy made it 10-5, and Wilson kept stretching the lead out from there, eventually going up by as many as nine. Cairn attempted to come back and cut the deficit to six before Koontz scored a kill and Satvik Sharma (FY, Hummelstown, Pa. / Hershey) closed the set with an ace.
- Defense helped split a 9-9 tie as Simmons and Wolfe rejected a Cairn attack before Webber and Simmons paired up during a 4-0 run. From there the teams volleyed points similar to the game's namesake exchanging the next 12 points. Wolfe broke the trend with consecutive kills, and while Cairn added the next two points, Wolfe resumed his dominance with another kill along with a block grouped with Webber and McCoy. Simmons capped the run with an ace. Webber added a pair of kills to help put the Phoenix over the finish line.
Inside The Numbers
- Wolfe's monster match saw him down 17 kills on 39 attempts and an attack percentage of .308. Defensively he picked up nine digs and added seven blocks in the front row.
- McCoy added a dozen kills on 26 attempts for a success rate of .423. He was a force himself up front with five blocks.
- Sterner led the defense with 11 digs. Koontz and Sharma were right behind him with nine a piece.
- Simmons was also a lead on the block party with six rejections. He was third on the team with 13.0 points.
- Sharma was excellent setting up the attack and totaled 43 assists.
- The 10 wins marks the first time Wilson has reached double-figures in wins in men's volleyball program history.
Up Next
The Phoenix will be back at home to host Pratt on Saturday afternoon. It will be the final home match of the regular season. First serve is set for 1.
