The Virginia Wesleyan University women's volleyball team (25-4, 11-1 ODAC) defeated #7 Roanoke in the quarterfinals of the 2024 ODAC Championship Tournament 3-1, winning 25-16, 25-15, 17-25, and 25-22.
Madi Schmidt led the Marlins offense with 11 kills, eight aces, seven digs, one solo block, and one assists,
Alexis Shaw was a key contributor in the game as she recorded 10 kills, a .500 hitting percentage, and two solo blocks, and
Emma Claytor had eight kills, two digs, two solo blocks, and two block assists.
The Maroons kept up with the Marlins to begin the quarterfinals, but VWU went on a 7-2 run to take a 9-2 lead. Roanoke responded with a 3-0 run to cut the Marlins lead to 9-7, but Virginia Wesleyan went on a 3-0 run to increase the lead to 12-7. Over the next 12 points, the Maroons outscored the Marlins 7-5 to bring the score to 17-14. However, Virginia Wesleyan countered with an 8-2 run to win the first set 25-16.
Roanoke went up 3-1 early in the second set, but Virginia Wesleyan countered with a 6-0 run to take a 7-3 lead. The Marlins kept up the pressure and outscored the Maroons 3-1 to force a Roanoke timeout at 10-4. RC came out of the timeout and scored the next two points, but the Marlins countered with a 7-0 run to lead 17-6. Several points later, Roanoke responded with a 6-0 run to cut the Marlins lead to 19-13 to force a VWU timeout. Virginia Wesleyan came out strong to finish the second set with a 6-2 run to win the set 25-15.
In the third set, Virginia Wesleyan jumped out to a 3-1 run, but the Maroons responded with a 5-1 run to lead 6-4. Then, the Marlins went on a 3-0 run, before Roanoke responded with a 5-0 run to lead 11-7. Roanoke continued their good run of play and went on a 7-1 run to lead 18-8. The Marlins fought back and outscored the visitors 8-4 to cut the lead to 22-16, but the Maroons went on to win the third set 25-17.
Roanoke started the fourth set full of momentum and built a 3-1 lead, but the Marlins went on a 6-0 run to take a 7-3 lead. RC responded with a 5-2 run to bring the score to 9-8, then VWU went on a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 15-8. The Maroons rallied with a 13-4 run to take a 21-19 lead over Virginia Wesleyan. The Marlins offense found a way and went on a 6-1 run to seal the win at 25-22.
