LEXINGTON, Va. – The Washington and Lee volleyball team totaled 11 team blocks compared to just one for Southern Virginia, as the Generals handled the Knights, 3-0, on Thursday at Holekamp Gym.
 
The Blue and White (8-0) won 16 of the first 18 points in the opening set en route to taking the first, 25-9. In the second, SVU (6-2) assumed a 12-6 lead forcing a W&L timeout. Out of the break, the Generals won four of the next five points to trim the lead to 13-10.
 
After a kill by the Knights, W&L won five straight points, capped on a kill by senior outside hitter Brynne Gould (Boone, N.C./Watauga), to grab a one-point lead, 15-14. The teams were tied, 20-20, later in the set, but the Blue and White closed out the stanza with five straight points (25-20), highlighted by a set-winning kill from senior outside hitter Leah Green (Longwood, Fla./Lake Highland Preparatory School).
 
The two teams were tied, 22-22, late in the third, but a service error by the Knights gave W&L a one-point margin. Sophomore setter Ashley Webb (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake) then tallied back-to-back aces to give the set, 25-22, and the match, 3-0, to the Blue and White.
 
Gould led the team with nine kills on a .292 hitting percentage. She also added nine digs. Sophomore defensive specialist Caroline Gard (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy) notched 17 digs.
 
Junior middle blocker Katy Blain (West Palm Beach, Fla./Benjamin School) registered seven blocks and five kills on a .444 hitting percentage. Senior middle blocker Courtney Berry (Charlottesville, Va./Western Albemarle) totaled six kills on a .316 hitting percentage to go with four blocks. Webb tallied 24 assists, six service aces, seven digs and two blocks.
 
Senior outside hitter Kaely Rath led the Knights with nine kills. Sophomore defensive specialist Sadie Barrus recorded a match-high 19 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Courtney Singleton had eight kills and 13 digs.

The 8-0 record is the best start to a season for the Generals since winning their first 13 matches during the 2011 campaign. 
 
These two teams play again on Saturday at 12:00 pm at Southern Virginia.