(PITTSBURGH) – The Wilson women's volleyball team opened its first road trip of the season by falling to Carlow in four sets in the Steel City on Friday night.
Abby Moreland (Jr., Sabillasville, Md. / Catoctin) led a balanced attack by reaching double figures in kills, but the Celtics were able to counter with a duo that combined for 28 points on the attacking end.
A slow start put the Phoenix down early, but the Blue and White bounced back nicely to pull even. Wilson looked to force a fifth after Carlow took the third, but the hosts rallied down the stretch to close out the contest.
The Basics
Scores: Wilson 1, Carlow 3 (25-9, 18-25, 25-13, 25-22)
Venue: St. Joe's Gymnasium
Records: Wilson 0-2, Carlow 3-4
How It Happened
- The Phoenix got off to a hot start by opening a 7-4 lead on the Celtics thanks to a pair of kills by Moreland, an ace from Allyson Garcelon (Sr., Shrewsbury, Pa. / Susquehannock), and Masalyna Miller (FY, Greencastle, Pa. / Greencastle-Antrim) kill. However, Carlow adjusted and went on a massive run to end the first set in quick fashion.
- Wilson bounced back in a big way in the second where it never trailed in the set to tie things up at 1-1. A 7-0 run helped capture momentum as a pair of kills from Moreland, one from Alexis Landis (FY, Parkesburg, Pa. / Octorara), another from Garcelon, and two aces from Garcelon put the score at 12-4. Carlow eventually chipped away at the deficit to pull within two before the Phoenix closed out the frame on a 6-1 burst with a Garcelon ace as well as kills from Moreland, Garcelon, Alison Daniels (So., Lititz, Pa. / Warwick), and Landis.
- The third set saw the Celtics get off to their best start of the night as they opened a 12-3 lead. The Phoenix were able to score the next three, but that was the closest they would get as Carlow got stronger the rest of the way for the 2-1 lead.
- A back-and-forth start saw Wilson start to pull away in the fourth with a 5-0 run after a pair of aces and a kill from Miller helped make the score 9-6. After Carlow tied it with the next three, Wilson went up 13-9 with a pair of Garcelon aces and a Landis kill. Still, Carlow didn't go away and eventually rallied to take a 17-16 lead. Moreland struck with another couple of kills to give Wilson a slight 20-19 edge, but the Celtics answered with six of the next eight to take the match.
Inside The Numbers
- Moreland finished with a team-high 10 kills, the 14th time in her career she's reached double-figures. She added 12 digs on the receiving end for her 10th career double-double.
- Defensively Addie Hebert (Jr., Gettysburg, Pa. / Gettysburg) led the team with 15 digs. Michaela Windisch (Jr., Westminster, Md. / Catoctin) added nine.
- Garcelon had an excellent night serving and dished out six aces to lead all players in a match that featured 26.
- The offense was set up by the duo of Ashlynn Babbitt (FY, Edenton, N.C. / John A. Holmes) and Windisch. Babbitt tallied 18 assists with Windisch providing 13.
- Carlow was paced by Rebecca Hess who chalked up 17 kills while hitting .268. Suzy Walker added 11.
Up Next
The Phoenix remain in Pittsburgh and will play in a tri-match hosted by Chatham that also features Pitt Greensburg. Wilson opens with the Bobcats at 2 p.m. and will follow with the Cougars.
