The Virginia Wesleyan University Women's Volleyball Team (27-5, 11-1 ODAC) recorded their first NCAA win in program history in a five-set thriller against Springfield College, winning 22-25, 25-20, 25-23, 17-25, and 15-11.
The Marlins had a great overall game with four players hitting double-digit points.
Hannah Smith led the team with 17 kills, 15 digs, one block assist, and one assist,
Alexis Shaw stepped up and had 15 kills, a .407 hitting percentage, two digs, one solo block, and two block assists, and
Emma Claytor tallied 12 kills, a .300 hitting percentage, seven digs, five block assists, and three assists, and
Madi Schmidt registered nine kills, eight digs, and one solo block.
Salena Jones led the team with 27 assists, she added six digs, and two service aces,
Niya Nash had 21 assists, three kills, three digs, two service aces, and three block assists, and the libero
Madeleine Hanes had 15 digs, four assists, and one service ace.
Springfield College started the match well as they held a 3-2 lead over the Marlins. Virginia Wesleyan fought back and went on a 4-0 run to take a 6-3 lead, but the Pride responded with a 7-4 run to tie the set at 10-10. VWU scored the next point, but Springfield went on a 6-0 run to lead 16-11 midway through the first set. The Marlins refused to lie down and countered with a 4-1 run to bring the score to 17-15. The two teams traded points that brought the score to 21-18, but the Marlins scored back-to-back points to cut the Pride lead to 21-20. However, Springfield outscored Virginia Wesleyan 4-2 to win set one 25-22.
The Marlins ramped up the intensity in the second set as they built a 7-4 lead to start the set. However, the Pride bounced back and went on a 7-0 run to lead 11-7. The two teams traded the next several points to bring the score to 16-12, but then Virginia Wesleyan countered with an 11-1 run to lead 23-18. The Pride outscored the Marlins 3-2, but VWU went on to win set two 25-20.
Virginia Wesleyan kept their momentum from the second set and jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the third set. Springfield chipped away at the Marlins lead, outscoring them 6-2 to bring the score to 10-8. VWU scored the next two points to lead 12-8, but the Pride rallied and went on a 7-1 run to take a 15-13 lead. Virginia Wesleyan responded with a 7-2 run to lead 20-17, but the Pride countered with a 3-1 run to bring the score to 21-20. The Marlins outscored the Pride 4-3 down the stretch to take the third set at 25-23.
Springfield sprung into action in the fourth set as they built a 6-2 lead over the Marlins. VWU responded with a 4-1 run to bring the score to 7-6, but the Pride rallied and went on a 7-0 run to lead 14-6. The Marlins chipped away at the Pride's lead and brought the score to 19-14, but Springfield went on a 5-1 run to lead 24-15 and went on to win the set 25-17.
High stakes in the fifth set with both team's seasons on the line. The Marlins scored the first two points of the fifth set, but the Pride countered with a 5-1 run to lead 5-3. Virginia Wesleyan went on a 3-0 run to lead 6-5. The Pride went on a 4-1 run to lead 9-7, but the Marlins responded with a 4-1 run to take an 11-10 lead. The Pride scored the next point and tied the set at 11-11, but the Marlins rallied with a 4-0 run to win the set 15-11 and secure the First NCAA Tournament Win in Program History.
