PHILADELPHIA – For the eighth consecutive season, the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Tournament will include the Philadelphia University women's volleyball team as the Rams earned a tournament spot with a 3-1 (25-10, 15-25, 27-25, 25-21) over visiting USciences in a conference match Friday night in the Gallagher Center.

Junior middle hitter Terra Ecker (Chapel Hill, N.C./East Chapel Hill) posted a match-high 14 kills in the victory for Philadelphia (14-8, 13-2 CACC). Sophomore outside hitter Allison Manley (Saint Charles, Ill./Saint Charles E.) recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 14 digs.

Senior outside hitter Brittany Olson (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) and senior middle hitter Jordan Milligan (Evansville, Ind./Central) had 10 kills each.

Setter Heather Martin (Leola, Pa./Conestoga Valley) contributed 29 kills, while sophomore setter Allyson Schillinger (Spring Hill, Fla./Springstead) added 19 assists.

Philadelphia jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the opening set and never looked back to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Ecker recorded six kills and hit .500 in the set one victory, while Milligan had four kills. The Rams' defense forced the Devils (12-17, 8-8 CACC) to hit .000.

The Rams opened set two with four of the first six points. USciences rallied back with an 11-4 run to move in front 13-7. A Milligan kill helped the Rams cut the deficit to 16-12. The Devils closed out the set by outscoring the Rams 9-3.

Set three was the tightest one of the match, featuring eight ties and three lead changes. USciences led 10-6, but Philadelphia fought back to take its first lead of the set at 12-11. The Devils got their four-point lead back thanks to an 8-3 surge to make the score 19-15. An Ecker kill capped a Philadelphia 8-3 run to give the home team a 23-22 advantage. The teams traded points until Chelsea Hughes (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) kill and a USciences bad set gave Philadelphia the set-clinching points.

Like the first set, Philadelphia never trailed in the final set. The Rams achieved their biggest lead of the set when Martin recorded a service ace to make the score 20-14. Manley led the Philadelphia offense in the fourth set with five kills, while Olson added four.

Amanda DeAngelo led USciences with 12 kills. Kaileen Bevenour recorded 31 assists and 18 digs.

Philadelphia returns to the Gallagher Center on Saturday, Nov. 2 for a CACC match against Caldwell starting at noon.