The Virginia Wesleyan University women's volleyball team (10-1, 2-0 ODAC) defeated conference opponent Roanoke 3-0, winning 25-17, 25-9, and 26-24.
Hannah Smith led the offense with 18 kills, a .469 hitting percentage, 10 digs, one assist, and one service ace,
Avery Lewis had nine kills, and one block assist and
Kyleigh Castengera had five kills, a .364 hitting percentage, two solo blocks, two block assists, and one service ace.
Madeleine Hanes led the team with 17 digs, and had five assists, and one service ace,
Salena Jones tallied 20 assists, four digs, and one service ace, and
Niya Nash had 17 assists, three digs, and one service ace.
Virginia Wesleyan built a strong 7-3 lead in the first set, but the Maroons rallied with a 5-1 run to tie the set at 8-8. The Marlins responded with a 7-1 run to lead 15-. Roanoke chipped away at the VWU lead to bring the score to 20-16, but the Marlins countered with a 5-1 run to win the first set 25-17.
Roanoke fought hard to start the second set and had a tied score at 3-3, but VWU went on a 5-2 run to lead 8-5. The Maroons scored back-to-back points to cut the lead to 8-7, but a kill from
Hannah Smith sparked a monster 9-0 run to lead 17-7 midway through the second set. Virginia Wesleyan outscored the visitors 8-2 the rest of the set and went on to win 25-9.
In the third set, Roanoke grabbed a 5-2 lead, but the Marlins came back to tie the game at 6-6. The Maroons went on a 3-0 run to lead 9-6, VWU chipped away at the visitor's lead and came within one with a score of 14-13. However, Roanoke slammed the door shut with a 5-1 run to lead 19-14. Virginia Wesleyan countered with a 4-0 run to bring the score to 19-18, but Roanoke outscored VWU 3-2 to lead 22-20. The Marlins offense awoke, and back-to-back kills from Smith tied the game at 22 all. The Maroons scored the next two points to lead 24-22, but VWU responded well with a 4-0 run to go on and win the third set 26-24.
