The Virginia Wesleyan University women's volleyball team (24-4, 11-1 ODAC) defeated conference opponent Shenandoah 3-1, winning 19-25, 25-11, 25-14, and 25-19. With the win, the Marlins clinch the No. 2 seed in the 2024 ODAC Championship Tournament.
Hannah Smith Led the Marlins offense with 20 kills, a .417 hitting percentage, 13 digs, one block assist, and one assist,
Madi Schmidt tallied 13 kills, a .220 hitting percentage, nine digs, and one block assist, and
Breana Brooks recorded eight kills a .636 hitting percentage, and four block assists.
Salena Jones led the team with 26 assists, had one service ace, and nine digs, and teammate
Madeleine Hanes led the team with 17 digs, had four assists, and two service aces.
Shenandoah came out strong, as they built a 5-1 lead early in the first set. However, the Marlins responded with a 5-2 run to cut the lead to 7-6. The two teams traded points and were tied at 12-12, but the Hornets went on a 5-1 run to lead 17-13 midway through the set. VWU responded with a 3-0 run to cut the lead to 17-16. However, Shenandoah outscored the Marlins 8-3 to win the first set 25-19.
The Marlins bounced back in the second set as they put together a big 9-3 lead. Shenandoah responded with a 4-1 run to bring the score to 10-7, but the Marlins countered with a 6-2 run to extend their lead to 16-9. VWU kept up the pressure and outscored SU 9-2 the rest of the set to win 25-11.
In the third set, Virginia Wesleyan jumped out to an early 7-3 lead, but the Hornets came back with a 3-1 run to bring the score to 8-6. The Marlins responded with a 9-3 run to open their lead to 17-9 midway through the set. The Marlins went on to outscore the Hornets 8-5 the rest of the set to win set three 25-14.
VWU had the momentum after winning the last two sets and built a 5-1 lead in the fourth set. However, the Hornets responded with a 6-0 run to lead 7-5, but the Marlins countered with a 5-2 run to take a 10-9 lead. The two teams traded points and the set was tied at 12-12, but Virginia Wesleyan rallied and went on a 10-2 run to lead 22-14. The Hornets never gave up and went on a 4-1 run to bring the score to 24-19, but VWU went on to win the set 25-19.
