(CHAMBERSBURG, Pa.) – Wilson picked up its third win in its last four outings as it defeated Mount Aloysius in another five-set thriller. Thursday's down-to-the-wire showdown was just the most recent edition of the deadlocked teams going the distance as it was the fourth time in the last five meetings the match has needed five sets.
For the third time during that stretch, the Phoenix came out on top. This time it was thanks to a balanced effort that saw
Ryan Koontz (So., York Haven, Pa. / Red Land), Jacob McCoy (Jr., York, Pa. / Spring Grove), and
Jackson Wolfe (FY, Abbottstown, Pa. / New Oxford) all register at least a dozen kills.
The Basics
Scores: Wilson 3, Mount Aloysius 2 (25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-8)
Venue: Gannett Field House
Records: Wilson 7-10, 1-0 UE; Mount Aloysisu 3-11, 0-1 AMCC
How It Happened
- A 4-0 run by the Mounties appeared to give them a slight edge at 11-6 before the Phoenix eventually caught up to tie the set at 18-all after a 5-0 run with a pair of aces by Demetrius Simmons (Jr., Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Mechanicsburg). A Mount Aloysius timeout followed, but it did little to slow the Wilson momentum down. Xavier Webber (Jr., Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin East), Koontz, and McCoy started another rally with all three getting kills before Satvik Sharma (FY, Hummelstown, Pa. / Hershey) gave Wilson the 1-0 lead with a kill.
- Another battle followed in the second with the teams tied as late as 19-all. This time the Mounties pulled away by scoring five of the next six. While Wilson did well to stay in contention with a pair of Wolfe kills and a Koontz ace, Mount Aloysius evened the match with an Evan Schmidt kill.
- Sure enough the third was tied late as well with both teams square at 18. A Mounties error, Simmons kill, and a Koontz kill provided some separation for the Phoenix to take a 21-19 lead. Mount Aloysius climbed back to make it a one-point set three times, but McCoy ended the threat of a comeback by sealing the set with a kill.
- The fourth was the best for the Mounties as they led nearly the entire time. They took an 18-12 lead after a kill from Andrew Wlodarczyk before Wilson nearly came back to tie it after a Vincent Natale (Jr., Mt. Airy, Md. / Linganore) ace made it 21-19. Unfortunatelythat was the closest Wilson got as the visitors forced a fifth set.
- After a back-and-forth start that saw teams even through the first 10 points, Wilson took control with a 4-0 run. Errors plagued the Mounties while Koontz capped the push to make the score 9-5. Mount Aloysius closed the gap to 10-8, but a pair of kills by Wolfe, a Webber/Simmons block, and a Simmons/Wolfe block, and a Mounties miscue ended the match.
Inside The Numbers
- Koontz led a balanced attack with 15 kills. He picked up seven digs, served two aces, and blocked a Mounties attempt as well.
- Both McCoy and Wolfe finished with 12 kills each. McCoy was efficient offensively with 21 attempts for a hitting percentage of .381. Wolfe nearly had a triple double with seven digs and rejected an eye-popping nine attacks, tied for 10th-most in a single five set contest.
- Sharma was excellent setting up the offense as he posted a new season-best 48 assists. He added six digs on the receiving end as well.
- Simmons was also impressive defensively as he posted seven blocks.
- Camden Sterner (So., Spring Grove, Pa. / Spring Grove) once again led the defense on the back line with 12 digs.
- Matthew Franz paced the Mounties with 17 kills. Andrew Freed and Wlodarzxyk each added 11.
Up Next
Wilson welcomes Penn State Behrend on Saturday afternoon with the first serve set for 3.
