University of Delaware Athletics
University of Delaware
2-2
Jacksonville
2-2
Delaware Opens Play at NC State Tournament With 3-1 Victory Over Jacksonville
9/4/2015 11:37:00 PM | Volleyball
• Boxscore
• Boxscore (pdf)
RALEIGH, N.C. -- The University of Delaware volleyball team dropped the opening set but responded to win the next three as the Blue Hens opened play at the North Carolina State Hilton Garden Inn Cary Classic with a 3-1 victory over Jacksonville Friday afternoon.
Delaware, which improved to 2-2 on the year, lost the first set 25-12 but roared back to take the next three from the Dolphins 25-18, 25-23, and 25-21.
UD senior outside hitter Katie Hillman led the way with 17 kills against just one attack error to hit .372 for the match, while Autumn Jenkins posted her second consecutive double-double with 12 kills and a career-high 22 digs. Julia Anderson handed out 45 assists during the afternoon, while Ariel Shonk contributed a season-high 36 assists and Alex Swann made six blocks.
Emily Laskelle slammed a match-high 23 kills for Jacksonville, which dropped to 2-2 on the season.
The Dolphins jumped out to an 8-2 lead and never looked back in taking the first set of the match, but Delaware used an early seven-point run in the second to take control of the stanza. After Jacksonville pulled within 18-17, the Blue Hens closed the set by winning seven of the final eight points to pull even at a set apiece.
The third frame was knotted at 20-20 before Delaware captured three consecutive points, and eventually put the set away on a Jenkins kill. UD trailed for a majority of the fourth set and was down 17-14 in the stanza, but the Blue Hens closed the match with an 11-4 tear to post the four-set victory.
Bonnie Kenny. “Katie Hillman answered the call and had a great match, and kept our team on task. We worked hard to beat a good team and win the match. I'm proud of our efforts.”The Blue Hens continue play at the tournament on Saturday when UD faces Ole Miss at 10 a.m. and North Carolina State at 7 p.m.
Match Notes:
• Hillman and Jenkins have reached double figure kills in all four matches
• Jenkins surpassed her previous career-high digs by seven
• Shonk now has 1,453 career digs, eighth most in UD history
• The match was the Blue Hens' first of the year that did not last five sets
• UD continued to utilize a deep bench as 14 of the 16 Blue Hens saw action
• Delaware improved to 2-0 vs. Jacksonville in school history
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Kevin Tritt at: ktritt@udel.edu (email) / 302-831-8715 (office) / 302-383-5005 (cell)
