ASHLAND, Va. — The third-seeded Washington and Lee volleyball team trailed 9-7 in the fifth, but won eight of 11 points to win the set, 15-12, and earn a 3-2 victory over second-seeded Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday at Randolph-Macon in the semifinals of the ODAC Tournament.

The Marlins (24-10) took a 1-0 lead in the match by winning the first set, 25-18. The Generals (26-6) responded by taking the second (25-22) and third sets (25-22) to claim a 2-1 advantage. VWC forced a fifth set with a 25-21 victory in the fourth.

With the Marlins holding a 9-7 advantage in the fifth, W&L won back-to-back points to even the score on kills by junior outside hitters Kasey Cannon (North Wales, Pa./Mt. St. Joseph Academy) and Anna Lausberg (Ocoee, Fla./Bishop Moore Catholic). The Generals took the lead on a VWC attack error, and then stretched it to two, 11-9, on a kill by sophomore middle blocker Mackenzie Shand (Saline, Mich./Saline).

Virginia Wesleyan won two straight points to even the set, 11-11. The teams then traded points, but a kill by Lausberg gave W&L a 13-12 lead. Junior setter Alex Kinzer (Greenville, S.C./Eastside) ended the match with back-to-back service aces to send the Blue and White to the championship match, 15-12.

Cannon led the team with 16 kills on 46 attempts, and added seven digs. Lausberg totaled 14 kills with nine digs and three blocks. Junior middle blocker Jenna Gustafson (San Diego, Calif./Francis Parker School) notched nine kills, six digs and three aces.

Kinzer tallied 15 assists, five aces, seven digs and five kills, while first-year setter Elena West (Roanoke, Va./Northside) had 20 assists. Sophomore defensive specialist Sam Moench (St. Petersburg, Fla./Berkeley Prep) led the team with 15 digs.

Sophomore outside hitter Tiffany Barrett totaled a team-high 16 kills for the Marlins and added 14 digs. Senior outside hitter Michaela Holbrooks registered 14 digs, while junior defensive specialist Marin Crowder recorded 18 digs. Junior setter Kirstin Sessoms totaled a match-high 49 assists.

The Generals will take on fourth-seeded Lynchburg in the ODAC Championship at 5:00 pm on Saturday in Ashland, Va. The Hornets defeated top-seeded Randolph-Macon, 3-1, in the other semifinal match. This marks the third straight year the two teams have met in the finals, with W&L coming out on top in the two previous matches.

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