The Virginia Wesleyan University women's volleyball team (6-0) defeated Oglethorpe 3-0 in game one, winning 25-19, 25-12, and 25-22. Later that day, VWU defeated William Peace 4-1, winning 25-19, 16-25, 25-18, and 25-23.
Game One:
Hannah Smith led the offense with 16 kills, with a .467 hitting percentage, tallied the most digs on the team with 13, and had one block assist,
Alexis Shaw recorded nine kills, with a .364 hitting percentage, three digs, and three blocks, and
Breana Brooks had seven kills, with a .429 hitting percentage, one dig, and led thet eam with four block assists.
Niya Nash registered a team-high 32 assists, had three kils, three service aces, and nine digs, and
Skylar Rivers had 11 digs.
Virginia Wesleyan started strong, jumping out to a 7-0 lead early in set one. The two teams traded points until Oglethrope went on a 4-0 run to bring the score to 11-7, but the Marlins responded with an 8-4 run to take a 19-11 lead midway through the set. VWU stayed strong and held off a late surge from Oglethorpe to take set one 25-19.
The Marlins continued to dominate in the second set as they opened up a 7-0 lead. Virginia Wesleyan kept a healthy lead and then had a 9-2 run to take a 22-7 lead. Oglethorpe outscored the Marlins 5-3 at the end of the set, but ended up winning the second set 25-12.
A highly contested third set as the Stormy Petrels tied the set at 5-5 early. However, the Marlins went on a 4-0 run to take an 11-6 lead, but Oglethorpe responded with a 6-1 run to tie the set at 12-12. VWU countered with a 6-1 run to lead 18-13. The Stormy Petrels rallied, outscoring Virginia Wesleyan 7-3 to bring the score to 21-20, but the Marlins finished the set with a 4-2 run to win 25-22.
Game Two:
The Marlins' offense was led by
Hannah Smith, who had 15 kills, three block assists, one service ace, and 12 digs.
Madi Schmidt tallied 11 kills and 11 digs, and
Alexis Shaw recorded nine kills, with a .318 hitting percentage, and one block assist.
Niya Nash led the team with 38 assists, had two kills, one block assist, and eight digs, and teammate
Skylar Rivers had a team-high 15 digs, five aces, and had three assists in the match.
In the first set, the Marlins built a 7-3 lead over William Peace, but the Pacers fought back to bring the score to 12-11. However, the Marlins' attack erupted, going on an 8-1 run to take a 20-12 lead. William Peace chipped away at the lead, but could not complete the comeback, and VWU won set one 25-19.
The Pacers came out strong in the second set, jumping out to a 10-2 lead. VWU went on a 6-3 run to cut the hosts' lead to 14-9, but the Pacers countered with a 6-1 run to lead 21-11. The Marlins outscored the Pacers 5-4 the rest of the set, but the hosts went on to win set two 25-16.
Virginia Wesleyan's offense kicked into gear to start set three, going on a 9-1 run to start the set. The two teams traded points until the Marlins extended their lead with a 5-1 run to lead 17-7. The Pacers chipped away at the Marlins' large lead and managed to bring the score to 23-18. However, VWU went on to win the set 25-18.
In the fourth set, the two teams were evenly matched, with neither team able to pull away early. After the game was tied at 6-6, the Marlins went on a 6-3 run to lead 12-9. William Peace responded with a 4-0 run to take a 16-15 lead midway through the set, but Virginia Wesleyan countered with a 5-1 run to lead 20-17. The Pacers outscored VWU 5-2 to tie the set at 22-22. The Marlins rallied late and went on a 3-1 run to win the set 25-23.
