LANGHORNE, Pa. – The No. 3 seed Cairn University women's volleyball team advanced to the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) semifinals for the second-straight season following a 3-0 sweep (25-18, 25-14, 25-17) of No. 6 seed Wilson College inside the Mason Activity Center on Tuesday evening.
 
"I am so proud of how this team has consistently "earned its platform." remarked Head Coach Whitney Seidel (Cairn' 17, 6th Year). "Our goal all season long was to be playing in the postseason, and we took care of the first phase of that goal tonight. We're so excited to keep this awesome season rolling!"
 
Cairn (18-5, 7-2 CSAC) faced off with a much improved Wilson (4-21, 4-5 CSAC) team early in this contest, holding an 8-6 lead over the Phoenix early in set one. The Highlanders went on a 9-1 run from that point, highlighted by two solo blocks by fifth-year Caroline Bennett (Little Silver, NJ / Red Bank Regional) and Cairn claimed a 25-18 victory in set one. Cairn held an 11-9 advantage at the onset of set two, before sophomore Hendryl Peabody (Bensalem, PA / Faith Baptist Christian Academy) flipped momentum firmly in favor of the Highlanders with back-to-back kills as Cairn marched to a 25-14 win in set two. Cairn completed the sweep with a 25-17 win in the final frame, and capped off the victory with three consecutive points.

ICYMI: Sophomore Hendryl Peabody flipped momentum in the Highlanders favor with a thunderous kill before the @CairnWVB team used exceptional defense to finish off a long rally in the second set of their CSAC quarterfinal win over Wilson on Tuesday!#PursueExcellence pic.twitter.com/VytkYs4ZhN

— Cairn Highlanders (@CairnAthletics) November 2, 2022

Cairn was led offensively by fifth-year Allison Barnes (Macungie, PA / Salem Christian), who posted a match-high 11 kills to go along with three service aces. Senior Kali Burres-Cheeley (Wanaque, NJ / Hawthorne Christian) and sophomore Caroline Conrad (Bangkok, Thailand / International Community School) added nine kills a-piece, and Burres-Cheeley scooped up a match-high 19 digs. Conrad added 15 digs and matched Barnes with three aces. Peabody slammed down seven kills, while junior Olivia Zepp (Westminster, MD / Francis Scott Key) dished out a match-high 34 assists to pair with 12 digs, matching senior Lizzy Fay (Langhorne, PA / Neshaminy).
 
As mentioned, the Highlanders advanced to the conference semifinal match for the second consecutive season, where they are set to take on No. 2 seed Notre Dame of Maryland University in a rematch from earlier this year in Baltimore on Thursday, November 3 at 7 p.m.