The Virginia Wesleyan University women's volleyball team (18-0, 5-0 ODAC) defeated conference opponent Roanoke 3-0, winning 25-11, 25-20, and 25-20.
Hannah Smith led the offense with 16 kills, a .414 hitting percentage, five digs, two service aces, and two block assists,
Alexis Shaw had eight kills, with a .389 hitting percentage, one assist, and two digs, and
Madi Schmidt recorded six kills and six digs.
Setter,
Niya Nash had a team-high 32 assists, seven digs, three service aces, two block assists, and one kill.
The Marlins came out on fire and jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first set. Virginia Wesleyan continued their dominance and outscored the Maroons 8-6 to lead 18-8. The VWU victory in set one was never in jeopardy as they closed out the set with a 7-3 run.
Roanoke made some adjustments heading into set two and went on a 5-0 run to start the set. VWU responded with a 7-3 run to cut the lead to 8-7. Roanoke was able to outscore the Marlins 5-3 to open up a 13-10 lead, but Virginia Wesleyan rallied with a 5-2 run to tie the set at 15-15. Then, the Marlins went on a 3-1 run to take an 18-16 lead. The two teams traded points to bring the score to 21-20, but VWU's offense rallied, going on a 4-0 run to win the second set 25-20.
With a 2-0 lead heading into the third set, the Marlins came out and built a 6-4 run to start the third set. They continued their good run of play to hold a 17-8 lead after going on an 8-1 run. The Maroons didn't give up as they chipped away at the Marlins' lead outscoring the visitors 10-6 to bring the score to 23-18. However, the Marlins scored two more points to seal the win.
