The Virginia Wesleyan University women's volleyball team (10-1, 3-0 ODAC) defeated conference opponent Ferrum 3-1, winning 25-14, 25-15, 31-33, and 25-13.
Hannah Smith led the team with a program-record 28 kills, a .500 hitting percentage, 11 digs, five service aces, one block assist, and one assist,
Alexis Shaw recorded nine kills, a .300 hitting percentage, four digs, one solo block, and one block assist, and
Leah Scalise had six kills, a .333 hitting percentage, two block assists, one dig, and one service ace.
Salena Jones led the time with 36 assists, had three service aces, two kills, and 10 digs, and
Madeleine Hanes registered 16 digs, four assists, and one service ace.
An early first set this morning did not slow down the Marlins' offense as they went on a 10-0 run to start the match. Ferrum responded with a 9-5 run to cut the lead to 15-9, but VWU countered with a 6-1 run to lead 21-10. Virginia Wesleyan went on to win the first set 25-14.
The Panthers came out in the second set and built a 6-2 lead, but the Marlins responded with a 7-2 run to take a 9-8 lead. Tied at 10-10, Virginia Wesleyan went on a 5-0 run to lead 15-10 midway through the second set. The Marlins followed that run with an 8-2 rally to lead 23-12, but the Panthers outscored VWU 3-2, but the lead was too big, and the Marlins took set two 25-15.
In the third set, the Panthers built a 6-4 lead over the host and then outscored the Marlins 4-3 to lead 10-7. Both teams traded points to bring the score to 16-12 to force a Virginia Wesleyan timeout. After the timeout, the Marlins went on a 5-3 run to cut the Panthers lead to 19-17. Two back-to-back points ended the Marlins run, but VWU came out and went on a 7-3 run to take a 24-22 lead. Ferrum responded with a 4-1 run to regain the lead at 26-25 to force extra points. Over the next ten points, Virginia Wesleyan outscored the Panthers 6-4 and led 31-30, but the Panthers had three straight kills to win the third set 33-31.
