Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Freshman Alissa Alker blasted 10 kills to help lift the University of Delaware volleyball team to its sixth straight victory with a 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 25-12, 25-16) win over Villanova at the Nevin Fieldhouse on Tuesday evening.

Alker (at right) committed just one error and hit a team-best .429 to lead the offensive attack. Katie Dennehy also finished with a match-high 11 kills, while Kim Stewart chipped in with 17 digs, nine kills, and three aces for Delaware (10-5).

Senior All-American Steph Barry also posted a team-high 28 digs. It marked her second highest total of the season and the highest in a four-set match since November 1, 2008.

The victory was the sixth straight for Delaware, marking the longest streak by the Hens since they won 11 in a row from October 19-November 30, 2007.

Villanova (12-6) jumped out to an early lead in the first set, capturing a 7-4 advantage following back-to-back aces by Kristina Bither. Despite the stumble, Delaware came firing back. A blast by Michelle LaLonde kicked off an impressive eight-point run that saw the squad flip its three-point deficit into a 12-7 lead.

Although Villanova chipped into the Blue Hen advantage and pulled back within two on several occasions in the middle of the set, Delaware kept the pressure on. Alker unloaded two kills and LaLonde fired another one to help the squad take a five-point edge at 18-15.

The hosts answered again, coming within one at 20-19, but the squad could never quite pull even. Eventually, kills by Dennehy, Erickson, and Stewart allowed the Hens to walk away with a 25-22 victory.

Villanova responded to its one-set deficit in the second frame. After a pair of early kills by Alker helped the Hens grab a 7-5 lead, the Wildcats came back with a five-point run, aided by two kills from Amy Gulyas, to take a 10-7 advantage. Although the Hens fought back to even the set at 11 following kills by Dennehy and LaLonde, the squad could never take the lead.

A nice streak by Delaware, highlighted by a Dennehy blast and a Stewart ace, kept the set deadlocked at 18 before Villanova pulled away. The hosts ended the set on a 7-1 run, including a kill and two blocks by Maria Nolan, to even the match with a 25-19 victory in the second frame.

That loss snapped a 12-set winning streak by the Blue Hens that dated back to the third frame of the squad’s September 23 match against Seton Hall.

Following the team’s first setback in nearly two weeks, Delaware quickly responded in the third. After grabbing a modest 6-4 lead out of the gate, the Blue Hens put the set away with an impressive run in the middle of the frame. Dennehy uncorked three kills, Erickson blasted a pair, and the two junior standouts teamed up for a block to help UD pull out to a 16-5 lead.

Villanova was able to piece together a four-point streak to inch back within seven, but the deficit was simply too large to overcome. Alker fired two kills in the waning moments of the set before a couple of aces by Stewart capped a 25-12 win in the third.

With their backs firmly against the wall, the Wildcats battled tough in the beginning of the fourth. Despite three kills and a block by Alker in the early going, Delaware could not pull away. The momentum went back-and-forth as the squads fought to 10 ties until the final one at 13-13.

After that point, Stewart unknotted the set with a blast before two Villanova miscues gave the Blue Hens some breathing room. Although the Wildcats pulled back within one, Erickson put together a tremendous effort at the end of the set to put the match away. The standout middle hitter fired three kills and teamed with Dennehy for a block on the way to a convincing 25-16 win in the final frame.

Erickson finished with eight kills and a team-high five blocks, while LaLonde had eight blasts for the Blue Hens as well. Jess Chason also finished with a match-high 39 assists to go along with 16 digs for her fourth double-double of the season.

Villanova was led by Kim Maroon, who had a match-high 34 digs. Amy Gulyas also had nine kills, while Cortney Oerteli chipped in with 35 assists.