The Virginia Wesleyan University men's volleyball team (15-3, 5-2 ODAC) defeated Lynchburg 3-1, winning 25-20, 21-25, 25-21, and 25-22.
Game One:
JaMarhe Wills led the team with 25 kills, a .422 hitting percentage, 10 digs, three block assists, and one assist.
Grant Younie had eight kills, with six digs, and three block assists.
Siah Hall recorded four kills, four service aces, five digs, and one assist.
Ajaye Davis led the team with 41 assists, had four block assists, four digs, and two kills, and teammate
Danny Smith registered 10 digs at libero and one assist.
A hard four start to the match as the teams were tied at 4-4, the Marlins were the first to build a lead as they went on a 7-2 run to take an 11-5 lead. The Hornets scored two points to cut the lead to 11-7, but the Marlins responded with a 4-0 run to lead 15-7. Several points later, Lynchburg went on a 3-0 run to cut the lead to 17-12. However, Virginia Wesleyan went on a 5-3 run to lead 22-15. Despite the Hornets' late surge, VWU went on to win set one 25-20.
Lynchburg started hot with a 6-0 run to start the second set, but the Marlins went on to outscore the Hornets 14-12 to bring the score to 18-14. The Hornets went on a 3-0 run to lead 21-14. Virginia Wesleyan started to surge back, but Lynchburg went on to win set two 25-21.
In the third set, VWU jumped out to a 5-2 lead early, but Lynchburg countered with a 6-3 run to tie the game at 8-8. However, the Hornets countered with a 6-1 run to take an 11-9 lead, but Virginia Wesleyan responded with a 9-6 run to retake the lead to 18-17. The Marlins outscored the Hornets the rest of the set, 7-4, to win set three, 25-21.
Lynchburg began the fourth set with a 6-4 lead before Virginia Wesleyan responded with a 6-2 run to go up 10-8. Lynchburg then used a 7-3 run to reclaim the lead at 15-13. Virginia Wesleyan answered with a 7-1 run to move ahead 20-16. Lynchburg outscored Virginia Wesleyan 6-5 the rest of the set, but the Marlins held on to take the set 25-22 along with the match victory.
Game Two:
JaMarhe Wills led the offense in game two as well with 21 kills, a. 262 hitting percentage, eight digs, one assist, and one service ace.
Siah Hall had a good match as he had 12 kills, with a .364 hitting percentage, six digs, two assists, one solo block, and two block assists.
Grant Younie tallied 11 kills and six digs.
Ajaye Davis recorded 48 assists, eight digs, one service ace, and one kill, and teammate
Danny Smith had six digs and four assists.
At the start of the match, the Marlins built a 7-5 lead, but the Cougars went on a 4-0 run to take a 9-7 lead. Virginia Wesleyan went on a 4-1 run to take an 11-10 lead, but Concordia Chicago rallied with a 7-1 run to lead 17-12. The Marlins countered and outscored the Cougars 7-5 to cut the lead to 22-19. The Cougars went on to win the set 25-19.
The Marlins rallied in set two and jumped out to a 10-6 run early. VWU kept up the pressure and went on a 5-0 rally to increase their lead to 20-12. However, the Cougars had a late surge to bring them within striking distance, but VWU went on to win set two 25-23.
In the third set, Virginia Wesleyan had an early rally to take a 12-6 lead. The Cougars scored back-to-back points, but the Marlins went on a 6-1 run to take an 18-9 lead. Concordia chipped away at the Marlins' lead, outscoring VWU 7-5 to cut the lead to 23-16. However, VWU scored the next two points to win set three 25-16.
Virginia Wesleyan had the momentum in set four and went on a 6-2 run early. Concordia responded with an 8-4 run to tie the set at 10-10, but the Marlins countered with a 10-4 run to take a 20-14 lead. The Cougars went on a 3-0 run to bring the score to 20-17, but VWU went on a 4-2 run to increase their lead to 24-19. The Marlins were able to win the set 25-22 to seal the win.
