Oct. 25, 2006
Final Stats
Newark, Del. - The Villanova Wildcats (13-12)took a break from BIG EAST play on Wednesday and traveled to Newark, Delaware to take on the University of Delaware (16=6) Fightin' Blue Hens. After splitting the first two games, Villanova came out on top in the final two to pick up the 3-1 win and get over .500 for the first time this season. Once again, it was a very balanced offensive attack by the Wildcats that led to the win.
In game one got down early, but made a run to tie the score at 7-7 before a service error gave the Fightin' Blue Hens an 8-7 lead. But the Wildcats would find another run in them to take a 15-11 lead. However, Delaware would not go quietly, rallying to take a 21-19 lead, forcing a Villanova timeout. It would be all `Nova after the timeout, who took a two point lead on a block by Kelly Ludwig and went on to win game one 30-26.
Game two would not favor Villanova, as errors plagued them throughout the game. Delaware got out to an 8-2 lead before the Wildcats called timeout. After the Blue Hens continued to build on their lead, the Wildcats found some offense to force a Delaware timeout at 14-8. Villanova would fight back to within five (19-14), but Delaware played solid through the rest to the game and earned the 30-24 win. In the game, Villanova had four attack errors, three service errors, two clocking errors and gave up three service aces.
Kacy Sellers (Battle Creek, Mich.) led the Villanova offense out of the gates in game three, ending the game with eight kills. After getting down 3-1 early, the Wildcats rallied to take an 8-3 lead to force a Delaware timeout. The lead would grow to 11-3 before Delaware would score another point. Delaware would mount a furious comeback to knot the score at 20-20. A kill by Chelsea Graman (Cincinnati, Ohio) would give the Wildcats a 21-20 lead, and they would go on to win the game from there, 30-25.
Although Villanova held the lead through most of the game, Delaware was able to come back at the end and take a 25-23 lead. However, the Wildcats were not to be denied, led by senior Adrian Semrau (Grafton, Ohio), who had three kills to help close out the game and the match, 30-28.
Individually for Villanova, there were five players that reached double digit kills, led by Alona Cherkez (Crimea, Ukraine) with 16 to go along with 15 digs. It was her 11th double-double of the season, tops on the team. Kelly Ludwig (Franklin Lakes, NJ) and Sellers were next with 15 kills apiece. Ludwig would add four blocks, while Sellers tied her career-high with eight blocks.
Semrau finished the match with 13 kills and four blocks and a .435 hitting percentage. The fifth Wildcat with double digit kills was Dana Tartasky (Haifa, Israel) with 10 and 14 kills, her third double-double of the season. Graman ran the Wildcats' offense very well, logging 43 assists to go along with a career-high 12 digs. Amy Gulyas (Allentown, Pa.) also had a strong defensive performance, coming up with 15 digs.
The Wildcats will return to BIG EAST play at home this weekend, as they play host to Syracuse on Saturday at 1 PM and Marquette on Sunday at 2 PM.
