The Virginia Wesleyan University women's volleyball team (6-0) went 2-0 today, with a 3-2 win over Haverford winning 25-17, 21-25, 23-25, 25-22, and 15-8, and defeated the host Messiah 25-18, 20-25, 25-22, 27-29, and 15-6.
Game One:
The Marlins started strong, jumping out to a 10-2 lead in the first set and following that run with a 4-1 run, taking a commanding 14-3 lead. Haverford fought back with a 3-0 run, but the Marlins countered with a 7-1 run to lead 21-7. Haverford's offense awoke and went on a 10-4 run, but the Marlins' lead was too great, winning set one 25-17.
Haverford kept their momentum in the second set, building a 7-3 lead over VWU. The two teams traded points bringing the score to 17-14, until the Marlins went on a 4-0 run to take an 18-17 lead for the first time in the second set. Haverford outscored the Marlins 8-3 to take set two 25-21.
A hard-fought third set, as the Marlins held a narrow 7-4 lead early in the set, but Haverford returned with a 5-1 run to take a 9-8 lead. However, Virginia Wesleyan responded with a 6-0 run to lead 14-9, but the Black Squirrels countered with a 10-2 run to take a 19-16 lead. VWU responded with a 7-3 run to take a 23-22 lead, but Haverford went on to win set three 25-23.
Down two sets to one, Virginia Wesleyan came out with a 6-2 lead in the fourth set. However, the Black Squirrels fought back with a 7-2 run to take a 9-8 lead, but VWU responded with a 4-2 run to lead 12-11. Haverford regained the lead with a 4-1 run, but the Marlins came back with a 5-0 run to lead 18-16. Haverford came back again to take a 21-20 looking to seal the win, but the Marlins had other plans and went on a 5-1 run to win the fourth set 25-22.
With the momentum in hand, the Marlins built a 10-2 lead in the fifth and final set. Haverford fought back, but the Marlins went on to win the set 15-8.
Hannah Smith led the Marlins offense with 20 kills, a .224 hitting percentage, 14 digs, three aces, and one assist,
Madi Schmidt had 15 kills, a .231 hitting percentage, 10 digs, and two service aces, and
Salena Jones tallied 40 assists, with 11 digs, one solo block, and one service ace.
Game Two:
The Marlins then faced the host Messiah, and with a thrilling win behind them, they came out in the first set strong building an 11-4 lead. The Falcons chipped away at the VWU lead and brought the score to 16-11, but VWU went on a 5-1 run to lead 21-12. The Falcons countered with a 5-1 run but the Marlins sealed the set one 25-18 victory with a 3-1 run.
Again, the Marlins jumped out to a 7-3 lead, but Messiah fought back to take a 13-11 lead. VWU responded with a 4-1 run to lead 15-14 midway through the set and went on to extend their lead to 20-17. However, the Falcons went on an 8-0 run to win set two 25-20.
Virginia Wesleyan bounced back in the third set with a 7-1 lead to start the set and increased their lead to 12-6 several points later. The Falcons responded with a 7-2 run to cut the lead to 18-17. VWU outscored Messiah 6-4 at the end of the set and won 25-22.
A close fourth set saw the host take an early 9-7 lead, but the Marlins went on a 4-0 run to lead 11-9 and went on to extend their lead to 16-13. The Falcons offense caught fire and went on a 7-1 run to lead 20-17. Messiah outscored VWU 4-2 to lead 24-19, but the Marlins went on a 5-0 run to tie the set at 24 all. With the two teams deadlocked the Marlins went on a 3-2 run to take a 27-26 lead, but the Falcons responded with a 3-0 run to take the fourth set 29-27.
With hard work, the Marlins jumped out to a 7-2 lead to start the fifth set and followed that run by outscoring the Falcons 4-2 to lead 11-4. Virginia Wesleyan kept the pressure on and won the fifth set 15-6.
Hannah Smith led the team with 23 kills, a .206 hitting percentage, 24 digs, one block assist, and one service ace,
Madi Schmidt had 15 kills, a .262 hitting percentage, 14 digs, three block assists, and one service ace, and
Salena Jones had one kill, led the team with 34 assists, two service aces, and eight digs.
