The Virginia Wesleyan University women's volleyball team (25-4, 11-1 ODAC) defeated Bridgewater 3-1 in the ODAC Championship Tournament Semifinals, winning 25-19, 26-24, 17-25, and 25-16. The Marlins are back in the ODAC Championship Tournament Final for the first time since the 2021 season.
Hannah Smith led the VWU offense as she had 22 kills, a .278 hitting percentage, 16 digs, two service aces, and one assist,
Emma Claytor stepped up and had 15 kills, with a .324 hitting percentage, three solo blocks, three block assists, four digs, and one assist, and
Madi Schmidt recorded 10 kills, a .303 hitting percentage, nine digs, and one service ace.
The two setters for the Marlins,
Salena Jones and
Niya Nash, each had 25 assists, Nash had two kills, three block assists, and six digs. Jones had one kill and 16 digs, and
Madeleine Hanes led the team with 21 digs and had three assists.
The Eagles came out strong and built a 7-2 lead to start the set, but the Marlins responded with a 5-2 run to cut the lead to 9-7. BC outscored the Marlins 2-1, but then VWU rallied with a 6-0 run to lead 14-11. The Marlins kept the momentum and outscored Bridgewater 7-4 to take a 21-16 lead. The Eagles went on a 4-0 run to bring the score to 21-19, but the Marlins countered with a 4-0 run to win the set 25-19.
A close second set, as Bridgewater held a narrow 6-3 lead early in the set. The Marlins responded with a 5-2 run to tie the set at 8-8. The two teams traded points and tied at 12-12. Then, the Eagles went on a 2-0 run that the Marlins countered with a 2-0 run of their own to tie the game at 14-14. Bridgewater's offense got going and outscored the Marlins 7-3 to take a 21-17 lead. VWU responded with a 7-1 run to lead 24-22, but the Eagles scored the next two points to tie the set at 24-24. The Marlins won the next two points to win the second set 26-24.
In the third set, the Eagles built an early 7-3 lead over the Marlins. Virginia Wesleyan responded with a 4-1 run to cut the lead down to 8-7. Bridgewater determined countered with a 6-0 run to take a 14-7 lead. Down big, Virginia Wesleyan chipped away at the Eagles lead, outscoring them 9-5 to bring the score to 19-16. However, the Eagles went on a 6-1 run to win the third set 25-17.
Virginia Wesleyan fought back in the fourth set and jumped out to a 6-2 lead. The Eagles outscored the Marlins 2-1 over the next three points, but the host responded with an 8-1 run to lead 15-6. Bridgewater went on a 3-1 run to cut the lead to 16-9. The two teams traded points the rest of the set, and VWU held on to win the set 25-16.
