Newark, Del. - The Millersville volleyball team competed in day one of the Wilmington Tournament Friday after a 13-day layoff. The rust was there as the Marauders were swept in straight sets by Wilmington. They rebounded well but dropped a five-set thriller to Adelphi to close out the day.

MU (2-3) posted a hitting percentage of just .073 against Wilmington (6-6) and fell in their first match of the tournament in straight sets (21-25, 20-25, 22-25). Against Adelphi (3-5), Millersville hit much better but fell in five sets (25-27, 23-25, 25-23, 25-20, 16-18).

The score was knotted up at 6-6 in the first set before the Wildcats went on an 11-3 run to take a commanding 17-9 advantage. Wilmington kept the pressure on the Marauders and took its biggest lead of the match at nine points, 22-13. Millersville didn't go away, though, scoring nine of the next 11 points to cut the deficit to three, 24-21. Katie Lesinski and Mary Paul each had two kills to fuel the comeback effort. However, WU landed a kill to take the first set, 25-21.

The second set was one of runs. The Black and Gold captured their first lead of the match and were in front of the Wildcats, 4-1. A 9-2 run by Wilmington helped them regain the lead, 10-6 and forced Millersville to call a timeout. Coach Brian Smith said the right things during the break as the Marauders mounted a 7-2 comeback of their own to tip the scales in their favor, 13-12. WU didn't help their own cause by committing four errors over that stretch. The hosts scored seven of the next nine points and were back in front, 20-14. It was back-and-forth after that but the Wildcats took the set, 25-20.

In the third set, it was a battle early on as the teams were deadlocked at 6-6. The home team scored 10 of the next 14 points and held there biggest lead of the set, 16-10. Three straight errors by the Wildcats put the Marauders within three. It was very highly contested from then on out as neither team scored more than two points in a row, but WU held on for the set victory 25-22 and the sweep in straight sets.

Lesinski led the offense with 10 kills while the attack was aided by 20 assists from Jessica Franz. Freshman, Erika Smith tallied 15 helpers as well. On the defensive end, Brooklyn Smith registered 21 digs and Emily Kaledas stopped three attempts above the net.

In the second match, the Panthers and Marauders battled in a very competitive first set that saw 16 ties and eight lead changes. Both teams hit the ball very well as Millersville posted a .235 hitting percantage and AU topped it with a .250 mark. Adelphi held the biggest lead at three points when it was 18-15. At one point, the Panthers led 21-19 before the Black and Gold really started to gain some momentum and went on a 5-2 run to take a 24-23 lead. That was one of two times MU took the lead late but the Panthers kept clawing back and eventually won the heated first set, 27-25.

The Orange and Black stormed out to a 13-6 lead in set two and led by seven again at 22-15. An 8-2 run by the Marauders cut the score to 24-23 but Adelphi won the set 25-23 with a kill on the next point.

The Panthers started the third set with another big run, this time to the tune of 15-6. The Marauders then scored seven straight points and trailed AU 13-15. The biggest lead from then on for AU was four,  20-16 but a 9-3 run won the set 25-23 for Millersville.

In the fourth set, there were six ties in the first 18 points and the teams were even at 9-9. MU then took the lead and never relinquished it to win the set 25-20 and send the match into a fifth and deciding set.

The fifth set saw eight more ties, the final one being 16-16. Two attack errors by the Black and Gold sealed the match win for the Panthers.

Katie Lesinski and Mary Paul each accumulated 11 kills and Jessica Franz was brilliant with 35 assists. Brooklyn Smith dug out 29 attacks and Franz registered 13 digs as well. Lesinski, Rebecca Roman and Emily Kaledas each tallied three blocks apiece.

The Marauders are right back at it again tomorrow with matches against Le Moyne and Holy Family at 12 and 4 p.m., respectively.