(GLENSIDE, Pa.) – The perfect start to the season came to an end as Wilson fell to Arcadia in a five-set thriller on Thursday evening. The Phoenix overcame a slow start in the first set to win the second and edged out the Knights narrowly in the fourth to force the fifth.
The Basics
Scores: Wilson 2, Arcadia 3 (25-11, 19-25, 25-15, 24-26, 15-9)
Venue: Alumni Gym
Records: Wilson 5-1, 0-0 United East; Arcadia 2-5, 0-0 Middle Atlantic
How It Happened
- It didn't take the Knights long to get warmed up as they jumped out to an 11-2 lead. The Phoenix struggled the rest of the frame as Arcadia took the first set. The Phoenix were able to right the ship in the second and they opened up the game with a Demetrius Simmons (XX) kill, a block by Simmons and Ryan Koontz (Jr., York Haven / Red Land), and a Jackson Wolfe (So., Abbottstown, Pa. / New Oxford) block. The Phoenix attack remained strong with a pair of Jacob McCoy (Sr., York, Pa. / Spring Grove) kills and a Scotty Zorn (FY, York, Pa. / Dallastown) block boosting the lead tot 9-4. A 3-0 stretch gave Wilson an 18-12 lead, its largest of the set, and although Arcadia scored the next three, the Phoenix remained in front the rest of the way to pull even.
- Wilson stayed close with Arcadia for most of the third until the Knights started to pull away late in the frame. The Blue and White were within two after a McCoy kill and an error, but the Knights were able to reel off eight-straight to take a 2-1 lead. Looking to stay alive, Wilson boosted its chances with a 4-1 stretch to go up 16-11. Arcadia made the Phoenix work for it, however, and went on an 8-2 run to regain the lead. The Knights ended up serving for match point, but a block by Zorn and Simmons, a kill by McCoy, and an ace by Simmons vaulted Wilson to the set win.
- The fifth started out fairly even with four ties in the first 12 points. Koontz put Wilson ahead with a kill to put the score at 7-6, but Arcadia rallied for the next four points. The hosts took the momentum wave the rest of the way and gave up only two points the en route to the win.
Inside The Numbers
- Wolfe led the team with 16 kills. He added two aces and a pair of blocks to finish with 19.0 points on the evening.
- McCoy wasn't far behind with 13 kills and did so with excellent efficiency as he had a hitting percentage of .545.
- Koontz and Adan Sapien-Rodriguez (Jr., Newport News / Mechanicsburg) had strong days defensively with 11 digs each.
- Satvik Sharma (So., Hummelstown, Pa.) quarterbacked the offense with 34 assists on the night.
Up Next
Wilson will be back on the road with a tri-match on Saturday. The Phoenix will head to Bridgewater to take on Virginia Wesleyan and Bridgewater.
