WINCHESTER, Va. -- Virginia Wesleyan College's volleyball Marlins overcame a 14-8 deficit in the third game of Friday's Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) contest at Shenandoah University to pin a 25-22 loss on the host Hornets.

It was a rousing win for the Marlins, who swept the Hornets overall 3-0 in Shingleton Gymnasium.  It was the opening conference match for VWC, which improved to 7-3 overall.  Shenandoah fell to 5-4 overall and to 0-2 in the league.

Junior Alex Lambert (Alexandria/Hayfield)and rookie Tiffany Barrett (Stafford/North Stafford)helped guide the Marlins back in the third game, creating a tie at 16. The teams played to ties at 18 and 19 and again at 21 after senior Tempe Martens (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park)knocked down a kill.  Shenandoah took a time out at the point, but could not grab the lead the rest of the way.

Virginia Wesleyan opened the match with a 25-18 victory and followed it with a 25-15 decision in the second game. Junior Michaela Holbrooks (Brookneal/William Campbell),  Barrett, Martens and Lambert led the Marlins to a 16-8 lead in the opener.  Shenandoah never got closer than three points the rest of the way.

The secon game followed a similar route as Virginia Wesleyan rolled out to an 18-9 lead, led by Marin Crowder (Charlottesville/Crozet Western Albemarle), Kelsey Caviston (Lanexa/Warhill), Barrett and Martens. The Marlins extended their lead to 20-10 en route to the win.

Caviston finished as the kills leader for VWC with 10, followed by Martens with nine and Barrett with seven.  Crowder produced a match-high 18 digs and Kirstin Sessoms (Virginia Beach/Bayside) contributed with a match-high 23 assists.

Six-foot-1 senior Haley Smith (Winchester/James Wood) and Rachel Gross (Warrenton/Fauquier) led Shenandoah with six kills each.

Virginia Wesleyan returns to competition on Saturday, Sept. 14, playing in Lexington against host Washington and Lee University in ODAC competition at noon.  The Marlins will also tangle with Averett University, for the second time this season, on the W&L court at 2:15 p.m. VWC won the first meeting, 3-2.

--AMDG--