The Virginia Wesleyan University women's volleyball team (14-3, 4-1 ODAC) defeated conference opponent Bridgewater 3-1, winning 18-25, 25-21, 25-16, and 25-20.
The Marlins offense was led by
Hannah Smith who tallied 20 kills, a .295 hitting percentage, 11 digs, four service aces, and one block assist,
Madi Schmidt registered eight kills, with a .238 hitting percentage, eight digs, one block assist, two service aces, and one assist, and
Emma Claytor in her return to the court recorded nine kills, a .304 hitting percentage, two digs, and four block assists.
Looking to bounce back from their midweek game against Washington and Lee the Marlins jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the first set. However, the Eagles responded with a 4-2 run to bring the score to 7-9. The two teams traded points to bring the score to 11-8, but the Bridgewater offense awoke going on a 9-3 run to take a 17-14 lead over VWU. The Eagles outscored the Marlins 8-4 to win the first set 25-18.
The Eagles kept their momentum in the second set and built a 6-3 lead. Virginia Wesleyan responded with a 3-1 run to cut the lead to 7-6, but the Eagles went on a 3-0 run to lead 10-6. The Marlins responded with a 6-1 run to take a 12-11 lead. The two teams traded points until Bridgwater went on a 3-1 run to retake the lead at 17-16. However, Virginia Wesleyan countered with a 7-1 run to lead 23-18 and went on to win the set 25-21.
With the teams tied at 1-1, the third set was going to be a key momentum shifter. The Marlins fought hard to get a 5-2 lead early in the set, but the Eagles countered with a 3-0 run to tie the set at 5-5. However, this sparked the Virginia Wesleyan offense and went on a torrid 7-0 run to lead 12-5. The teams traded points until the Marlins strung together another 7-0 run to lead 21-8. The Eagles had a late surge but the lead was too great and VWU won the third set 25-16.
With a game in hand, Virginia Wesleyan had the momentum and jumped out to an 8-2 lead. However, the host responded with a 5-1 run to bring the score to 11-9, but the Marlins responded with a 5-0 run to extend their lead to 16-9. Bridgewater outscored VWU 4-2 to bring the score to 18-13, but the Marlins countered with a 3-0 run to lead 21-13. Bridgewater went on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 21-18, but Virginia Wesleyan outscored the host 4-2 to win 25-20 and seal the 3-1 win over Bridgewater.
