BOX SCORE

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Despite winning the opening game and another double figure performance from senior Lauren Clary (Roanoke, Va. / Cave Spring), Radford fell to UNC Wilmington 3-1 (25-13, 13-25, 24-26, 18-25) in its final contest of the 2009 Davidson Wildcat Classic Saturday evening at Belk Arena.

The loss was just the second in the last eight matches for the Highlanders as they fall to 7-4, while UNCW improves to 7-4 overall.

Despite the setback, sophomore Katelyn Meeks (Richmond, Va. / Mills Godwin) led both clubs with 19 digs to finish the two-day event with 62.

Radford used a 9-0 spurt midway through the first to cruise to a 25-13 victory in the opening game and grab the early 1-0 advantage.

In game two, the Seahawks scored nine of the first 10 points and never looked back with a 25-13 decision of their own to even the match, 1-1.

After the Highlanders jumped out to a 10-2 lead in third, UNCW slowly chipped away at the deficit to tie the score, 19-19. Following the Seahawks' lengthy run that evened the frame, the two clubs traded points to find themselves deadlocked again, 23-23. A Megan McWhorter (Newport News, Va. / Peninsula Catholic) kill put Radford one point away from going up two games to one, but UNCW answered with three straight points to secure the game, 26-24.

Tied 15-15 in the fourth, the Seahawks closed the final game on a 10-3 flurry to put the match away.

Paula McConnell and Lindsey Strucko paced the Seahawks with 10 kills each, while Kelsey Bendig finished with a match-high 34 assists.

UNC Wilmington outhit the Highlanders .185 to .072 and held a 6-5 edge in total blocks.

Radford will continue its seven-match swing away from home with a 7 p.m. contest at Elon Tuesday evening.

2009 Davidson Wildcat Classic All-Tournament Team
Lauren Clary, Radford
Mariah Nussbaum, Radford
Michelle Godfrey, Canisius
Lindsey Strucko, UNC Wilmington
Sarabeth Peele, Davidson
Ashlyn Morris, UNC Wilmington - Best Libero
Paula McConnell, UNC Wilmington - MVP