The Virginia Wesleyan University women's volleyball team (12-0, 1-0 ODAC) rolled to a 3-0 victory in ODAC debut against Shenandoah, winning 25-18, 25-18, and 25-17.
Hannah Smith led the offense with 15 kills, a team-high 16 digs, one service ace, and one block assist.
Alexis Shaw had the second most points on the team with eight kills, a .444 hitting percentage, four block assists, one dig, and one assist.
Ava Baker recorded five kills, with a .364 hitting percentage, and four block assists, and teammate
Niya Nash led the team with 34 assists, had two kills, two service aces, one block assist, and three digs.
The Hornets began well, going up 7-3 early. The Marlins responded with a 6-1 run to take a 9-8 lead. VWU continued their offensive pressure and outscored the host 9-1 to take a commanding 18-10 lead. Shenandoah had a late surge to bring the score to 20-17, but the Marlins fought back, going on a 4-0 run to lead 24-17, and went on to win the set 25-18.
The Marlins scored the first two points of the second set, but the Hornets kept up and led after going on a 3-0 run. However, Virginia Wesleyan responded with a 5-1 run to retake the lead at 12-9. SU came back and brought the score to 14-13, but the Marlins countered with a 7-1 run to lead 21-14 late in the set. Each team scored four points the rest of the set to seal the 25-18 win for VWU.
In the third set, Virginia Wesleyan continued its good run of play and jumped out to an early 4-1 lead. The Marlins extended their lead further, outscoring the host 7-4 to lead 11-5. The two teams traded points until the Marlins went on a 5-1 run to hold match point at 24-13. Shenandoah rallied, scoring the next four points, but VWU went on to win the set 25-17.
