LEXINGTON, Va. — Sophomore outside hitter Sydney Heifner (Nashville, Tenn./Harpeth Hall) totaled 16 kills and nine digs to lead the Washington and Lee volleyball team to a 3-0 victory over Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday at Holekamp Gym.
 
The Generals (18-5, 9-0 ODAC) led 20-15 in the opening set, but the Marlins (18-6, 8-1 ODAC) used a 5-0 run to even the score, 20-20. The stanza was tied, 22-22, a few points later, but a kill by first-year outside hitter Avery Myers (New York, N.Y./Poly Prep Country Day School) and an ace by first-year outside hitter Maddie Weller (West Chester, Pa./Downingtown STEM Academy) pushed the Blue and White in front, 24-22.
 
VWU fought off one set-point opportunity with a kill by sophomore outside hitter Morgan Ludovici, but a kill by Heifner gave W&L the set, 25-23. The script was flipped in the second with the Marlins holding a 20-15 spread. The Generals answered with a 6-1 run, capped on a kill by Heifner, to even the set, 21-21.
 
The set was tied, 23-23, a handful of points later, but back-to-back kills by senior middle blocker Katy Blain (West Palm Beach, Fla./Benjamin School) and Heifner secured the second for the Blue and White, 25-23. The Generals used the momentum of the first two sets to jump out to a 10-5 advantage in the third.
 
VWU won the next two points to trim the lead to 10-7, but a 4-0 spurt from W&L stretched the lead to 14-7. The Generals' lead did not drop below four points the rest of the match, as they closed out the contest, 25-17, in the third.
 
Along with Heifner's numbers, Blain totaled eight kills and five blocks. Junior defensive specialist Caroline Gard (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy) notched 19 digs, while first-year setter Allie Buchholz (Portland, Ore./Jesuit) had 14 digs and three assists. Junior setter Ashley Webb (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake) tallied 28 assists and six digs.
 
Ludovici led the Marlins with 10 kills, while junior setter Haley Sutton had 20 assists, nine digs and two aces.
 
The Generals return to action on Wednesday when they host Randolph-Macon at 7:00 pm.