VIRGINIA BEACH -- A loud, enthusiast crowd was on hand Saturday in the Jane P. Batten Student Center to see Virginia Wesleyan College's volleyball team produce two important Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) victories.

Senior Day helped bring out some standout play from the Marlins (14-10), who posted a 25-20, 25-23, 15-25, 25-20 win over Emory & Henry College's Wasps, and followed it with a thrillin 26-24, 25-21, 25-13 victory over Guilford College's Quakers.

The ODAC sweep lifted Virginia Wesleyan into third place alone in the current league standings at 7-3, a win in front of Lynchburg College, which is 6-3. The Marlins close the regular ODAC season on Tuesday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. in Ashland against the host Yellow Jackets of Randolph-Macon College.

R-MC also competed in Saturday's quad match at VWC and posted 3-0 wins over both the Wasps and Quakers.  The Yellow Jackets are 9-1 in the league, a game ahead of Washington and Lee University, which is 8-1. 

VWC started Saturday with a thrilling comeback after trailing Emory & Henry (13-10, 5-4) 18-17. The Marlins recorded consecutive kills by Tempe Martens(Severna Park, Md./Severna Park), Michaela Holbrooks(Brookneal/William Campbell), and Alex Lambert(Alexandria/Hayfield)pushed VWC into a 23-17 lead tht carried the team to the first-set win.

Set two included seven ties before the Wasps took a 20-17 lead helped by timely points from Tristen Pennington (Kingsport, Tenn./Sullivan South) and Hannah Stewart (Boone, N.C./Watauga). VWC came back strong however, as rookie Tiffay Barrett (Stafford/North Stafford), sophomore Kirstin Sessoms(Virginia Beach/Bayside),and Lambert combined for five straight kills and a 23-20 lead.  Points by Stewart closed the spread to two, before VWC produced the winning points for the 25-23 thriller.

Maleah Neely (Hillsville, Va./Carroll County), Nicole Tesh (Boone, N.C./Watauga), and Hannah Doss (Meadowview, Va./Patrick Henry) helped E&H open up a close third game and roll down the stretch to a 25-15 decision. 

There were 11 ties in the fourth set before the Wasps opened a 19-17 lead.  Momentum changed there however, as Virginia Wesleyan reeled off seven straight points for a 24-19 lead, led by Lambert with three kills. Emory & Henry never recovered.

Lambert finished with a season-high 19 kills, followed by Barrett with 10. Sessoms recorded 31 assists, her second 30+ match of the season, and Marin Crowder(Charlottesville/Crozet Western Albemarle), Martens, and Sessoms all produced 16 digs.

Tesh led Emory & Henry with 11 kills, Neely recorded 34 assists, and Kelly Mae Kerlin (Franklin, Tenn./Currey Ingram) led the Wasps with 15 digs.

Competition with Guilford (11-13, 4-6) featured thrillers in the first two sets, before Virginia Wesleyan pulled away in the third set for the sweep.

Malika French (Durham, N.C./School of the Arts) put down a kill that gave the Quakers a 23-20 lead in an intense first set, but Guilford could not make it stick. Errors pulled VWC within a 23-22 score, before a Kelsey Ruehling (Three Rivers, Calif./Woodlake Union) kill put the Quakers up 24-22.  Kills by Holbrooks, Martens, and Sessoms followed, switching momentum to Virginia Wesleyan which closed out the set with 26-24 win.

Brittany Freeman (Henderson, N.C./North Henderson), French, and Ruehling helped carry Guilford into an early 10-4 lead in the second set, before Virginia Wesleyan rallied.  The Marlins outscored the Quakers 12-5 to take a 16-15 lead, helped by kills by Madelyn McMurry(Springfield/West Springfield),Martens, Sessoms, Lambert, and Holbrooks. Michaela Wall (Elkin, N.C./Surry Central) tied it at 16 for Guilford, only to see VWC grab the lead and never let it go to the end.  A Holbrooks ace gave the Marlins the winning point.

Set three saw VWC bolt out to an 11-3 lead and never look back.  The Quakers never got closer that eight points the remainder of the set.

Martens finished with 11 kills, 10 digs, and three aces for VWC. Barrett added 10 and Sessoms recorded 28 assists. Crowder finished with eight digs to increase her season total to 415, moving her with 12 of the top five single-season totals in VWC history.

French led Guilford with 10 kills, Taylor Whitley (China Grove, N.C./Jesse C. Carson) recorded 24 assists, and Meredith Foscue (Asheboro, N.C./Asheville) finished with 15 digs.

--AMDG--