The Virginia Wesleyan men's volleyball team (13-5, 4-3 ODAC) defeated the Mounties of Mount Aloysius College 3-0 and the Royals of Regent University 3-0 in VWU's Tri-Match.
Game One:
JaMarhe Wills led the team with 13 points, nine kills, three service aces, one solo block, and five digs. Landon Brinkley tallied 11 kills, with a .474 hitting percentage, four digs, and one block assist, and Matthew Sheppard had six kills, and three block assists.
Virginia Wesleyan came out hot jumping out to a 12-1 lead in the first set. The Mounties chipped away at the Marlins' lead to bring the score to 17-8. However, the Marlins went on to win the first set 25-13.
Mount Aloysius shifted the momentum to start the second set and built an 8-6 lead over VWU. The Marlins came back to tie the set at 10-10, but then the host's offense exploded going on a 10-1 run to lead 20-11. The Mounties countered with a 7-1 run to cut the lead to 21-18, but VWU went on to win the second set 25-19.
With a 2-0 lead, the Marlins took care of business and started the third set strong jumping out to an 11-2 lead. The Mounties chipped away at the Marlins' lead and brought it down to 15-10. However, VWU went on a 3-0 run to lead 18-10, but the Mounties responded with a 4-0 run to cut the lead to 18-14. The Marlins countered with a 5-1 run to take a commanding 23-15 lead and ended up winning the set 25-17.
Game Two:
Carlyle Campbell tallied nine kills with a .467 hitting percentage, two block assists, and three digs, Christian Harris had nine kills, a .600 hitting percentage, six digs, and one solo block, and Landon Brinkley had eight kills, a .467 hitting percentage, one service ace, one assist, and three digs.
In the first set, the Marlins jumped out to a 9-4 lead. Regent responded with a 4-0 run to bring the score to 9-8. VWU went on a 4-1 run to extend their lead to 13-9. The Royals scored back-to-back points before the Marlins went on a 5-0 run to lead 18-11. The Royals chipped away at Virginia Wesleyan's lead to bring the score to 22-19. However, the Marlins went on to win the first set 25-21.
Virginia Wesleyan came out in the second set and continued its good play by building a 7-3 lead. The two teams traded points, until the Marlins went on a 10-3 run to lead 20-10. The Royals outscored VWU 4-3, but the Marlins went on to win the set 25-15.
In the third set, the Marlins built a 6-3 lead, but Regent came back and tied the set at 6-6. Virginia Wesleyan rallied with a 7-2 run to lead 13-8. However, Regent responded with a 5-1 run to cut the lead to 14-13. Virginia Wesleyan countered with an 11-3 run to win the set 25-16.
