The Virginia Wesleyan University women's volleyball team (16-3, 6-1 ODAC) defeated the University of Lynchburg in a five set thriller, winning 16-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-18, and 15-12.
Emma Claytor led the Marlins with 14 kills, a .387 hitting percentage, four digs, one solo block, two block assists, and one service ace,
Hannah Smith tallied 14 kills, 10 digs, two service aces, one solo block, and one assist, and
Madi Schmidt registered 12 kills, 12 digs, two assists, and one service ace.
Alexis Shaw had double-digit kills with 10, a .333 hitting percentage, two digs, one block assist, and one solo block,
Madeleine Hanes led the team with 21 digs, had three service aces, and four assists.
Niya Nash had two kills, 22 assists, five digs, one solo block, and one block assist and teammate
Salena Jones led the team with 24 assists, one kill, nine digs, and one service ace.
Lynchburg came out in set one ready jumping out to a 6-3 lead. The Marlins fought back and tied the game at 7-7, but the Hornets rallied to extend their lead to 19-10. The Hornets held off the Marlins to win set one 25-16.
The Marlins eager to start the second set built a 6-3, but the host tied it up at 6 a piece. The teams traded points until the Hornets went on a 3-0 run, but VWU countered with a 6-1 run to lead 15-12. Lynchburg went on a 5-1 run to take a 17-16 lead. However, Virginia Wesleyan responded with a 6-0 run to take a 22-17 lead and went on to win the set 25-20.
With each team winning a set, the third set would be a big momentum shifter. The intensity turned up, the teams wouldn't give an inch as neither team led by more than two until the Hornets held a 7-5 lead after going on a 3-1 run. Lynchburg led 11-8, but VWU went on a 5-1 run to take a 13-12 lead. However, the Hornets rallied with a 4-0 run to lead 16-13. Virginia Wesleyan went on a 4-1 run to tie the set at 18-18, but LYN went on a 5-1 run to lead 23-19. VWU responded with a 3-1 run to cut the lead to 24-22, but the Hornets won the third set 25-22.
Determined to get back in the match, the Marlins jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the fourth set. The Marlins kept their lead at 14-7, but Lynchburg rallied with a 5-0 run to bring the score to 14-12. Virginia Wesleyan responded with a 5-1 run to lead 19-13, but the Hornets countered with a 3-0 run to cut the lead to 19-16. However, the Marlins outscored the Hornets 6-2 to win the fourth set 25-18.
Lynchburg jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the fifth set, but the Marlins countered with a 4-0 run to tie the set at 5-5. The Hornets strung together a 4-1 run to lead 9-6, but the Marlins responded with a big 6-1 run to take a 12-10 lead in the final set. The host scored back-to-back points to tie the game at 12-12, but the Marlins won the next three points to win the fifth set 15-12.
