The Virginia Wesleyan University men's volleyball team (11-1, 3-0 ODAC) defeated Bridgewater 3-1, winning 25-15, 20-25, 25-20, and 25-16, and swept Wilson 3-0, winning 26-24, 25-16, and 25-22.
Game One:
Grant Younie led the team with 14 kills, a .407 hitting percentage, six digs, one service ace, one block assist, and one solo block.
JaMarhe Wills tallied 14 kills, with a .276 hitting percentage, 14 digs, three assists, and one block assist.
Siah Hall recorded eight kills, three digs, and three service aces, and teammate
Ajaye Davis led the team with 42 assists, three kills, six digs, one service ace, and one block assist.
The Marlins started off the game strong, jumping out to a 7-2 run early in the set. The Eagles fought back and brought the game to 8-5, but Virginia Wesleyan went on an 11-3 run to take a 19-8 lead. The Eagles outscored the Marlins 7-6, but VWU won the set 25-15.
Virginia Wesleyan kept its momentum from the first set, and in the second set built up a 7-4 lead. Bridgewater went on a 7-2 run to take a 12-10 lead, but the Marlins responded with a 3-1 run to tie the set at 13-13. The Eagles countered with a 6-1 run to take a 19-14 lead, but VWU fought back with a 4-0 run to cut the lead to 18-19. Bridgewater finished the set with a 6-2 run to win set two 25-20.
In the third set, VWU started hot with a 5-0 run, but Bridgewater chipped away at the Marlins lead to bring the score to 8-7. However, the Marlins went on a 5-1 run to take a 13-8 lead, but the Eagles responded with a 5-2 run to cut the Marlins' lead to 15-13. Virginia Wesleyan fought hard and extended their lead to a 5-1 run to lead 20-14, but the Eagles went on a 4-0 run to bring the score to 20-18. VWU rallied going on a 5-2 run to win the third set 25-20.
The Marlins started strong, jumping out to a 7-2 run early in the fourth set. The two teams traded points, bringing the score to 11-6, until Bridgewater scored back-to-back points to cut the Marlins' lead to 11-8. However, Virginia Wesleyan rallied, going on an 8-3 run to increase their lead to 19-11, Bridgewater countered with a 3-0 run to cut the lead to 19-14. The Marlins kept control of the match going on a 6-2 run to win the fourth set 25-16.
Game Two:
JaMarhe Wills led the offense with 20 kills, a .293 hitting percentage, six digs, and two assists.
Grant Younie had eight kills, with a .333 hitting percentage, four digs, one assist, two service aces, and one block assist.
Ajaye Davis quarterbacked the offense with 36 assists, one kill, and five digs.
Wilson had the edge to start the match, as they built a 5-3 lead early, but the Marlins responded well with a 4-0 run to take a 7-5 lead. Wilson rallied back and outscored the Marlins 7-4 to take a 12-11 lead midway through the set. Wilson rallied and extended their lead to 17-13, and kept a lead until the score was 23-19. However, Virginia Wesleyan rallied, going on a 7-1 run to win set one 26-24.
After finishing the first set on fire, the Marlins offense did not stop there as they went on an 11-3 rally to start set two. The two teams traded points, and Wilson narrowly outscored the Marlins to bring the score to 17-10, but VWU went on a 4-1 run to take a 21-11 lead. The Marlins kept the lead the rest of the set to win 25-16.
In the third set, VWU went on a 6-2 run early, but the Phoenix responded with a 4-0 run to tie the set at 6-6. Virginia Wesleyan countered with a 5-2 run to take an 11-8 lead, but Wilson fought back with a 3-0 run to tie the game at 11-11. The Marlins had their own 3-0 run to lead 14-11, then the two teams traded points to bring the score to 18-16. However, the Marlins' offense erupted, going on a 5-0 run to lead 23-16, but Wilson responded with a 6-1 run, bringing the score to 24-22. Virginia was able to score a point to win the set 25-22 and complete the 3-0 sweep.
