The Virginia Wesleyan University women's volleyball team (4-0) went 2-0 on day two to stay undefeated with a 3-1 win against Widener, winning 25-19, 25-16, 13-25, and 25-19. The second game was a five set thriller where the Marlins won 25-15, 25-23, 24-26, 22-25, and 16-14.
With the win over Widener, Head Coach
Karissa Cumberbatch recorded her 100th win as the Virginia Wesleyan's Head Women's Volleyball Coach.
Game One:
The Marlins offense was led by
Alexis Shaw who tallied 10 kills, with a .429 hitting percentage, three digs, and one block assists,
Hannah Smith had 10 kills, with a .292 hitting percentage, 10 digs, three service aces, and one block assist, and
Madi Schmidt recorded nine kills, with a .263 hitting percentage, nine digs, and one service ace.
Kathryn Liles led the team with 22 assists, had two service aces, four digs, and one block assist, and teammate
Skylar Rivers led the team with 13 digs and had four assists.
In the first set, the teams were evenly matched, deadlocked at 7-7 early. However, the Marlins went on a 4-0 rally to take a 11-7 lead, but the Pride responded with a 3-1 run to cut the lead to 12-10. Virginia Wesleyan countered with a 9-1 run to take a commanding 21-11 lead and went on to win the first set 25-19, to hold off a late rally from Widener.
VWU continued their good run of play and jumped out to a 12-1 lead to begin set two. The Pride responded with a 5-2 run to bring the score to 14-6. The visitors continued to chip away at the Marlins' lead and cut the lead to 17-11. However, the Marlins went on a 5-2 run to lead 22-13 and went on to win the set 25-16.
The Pride turned up their play in the third set, building a 12-5 lead, but the Marlins responded with a 6-1 run to cut the lead to 13-11. Widener dominated the rest of the set, outscoring the Marlins 12-2 to win the third set 25-13.
The fourth set was a hard fought battle as the teams could not be separated until the Pride went on a 3-0 run to take a 9-7 lead. The Marlins responded with a 4-2 run to tie the set at 11-11. Widener jumped out to a 16-13 lead on the back of a 5-2 run, but VWU countered with a monster 10-2 run to take a 23-18 lead and went on to win the set 25-19.
Game Two:
The Blue Jays started the game strong with a 4-0 run, but Virginia Wesleyan countered with a 9-0 run to take a 9-4 lead. The two teams traded the next couple of points until the Marlins went on a 4-1 run to extend their lead to 17-8. Westminster rallied with a 5-2 run to bring the score to 19-13, but VWU countered with a 6-2 run to win the first set 25-15.
Virginia Wesleyan started the second set well, building a 5-0 run, but the Blue Jays responded with a 5-2 run to cut the lead to 7-5. The Marlins countered with an 8-3 run to lead 15-8. The teams traded points to bring the score to 21-14, but Westminster had a late rally, outscoring the Marlins 9-4. However, VWU outlasted the Blue Jays, winning the set 25-23.
The Blue Jays played well to start set three, jumping out to a 5-2 lead, but the Marlins responded with a 7-1 run to take a 9-6 lead. The two teams were battling in the third set, each team scoring eight points over the next 16 rallies. However, Westminster chipped away at the Marlins' lead and was able to tie the set at 22-22. The Blue Jays ended the set outscoring the host 5-2 to win the third set 26-24.
In the fourth set, the two teams kept competing to tie the set at 3-3. Westminster strung together a 4-1 rally to lead 7-4, but the Marlins countered with a 6-1 run to take a 10-8 lead. The Blue Jays were able to fight back with a 6-2 run to take a 14-12 lead and followed that rally with a 5-2 run to lead 19-14. However, the Marlins didn't give up and went on a 6-2 run to cut the lead to 21-20. Westminster outscored the Marlins 4-2 the rest of the set to win 25-22, forcing a fifth set.
The Blue Jays continued their good play and led 3-1 early, but the Marlins countered and grabbed the lead at 4-3. VWU went on a 4-2 run to lead 8-5 midway through the fifth set. The teams traded points until Westminster went on a 5-0 rally to take a 13-10 lead. Virginia Wesleyan fought back, and with four kills from
Hannah Smith, the Marlins were able to go on a 6-1 run to win the set 16-14.
