VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Taking a trip to the Virginia Beach for a Saturday afternoon tri-match, the Washington and Lee University women's volleyball dropped matches against conference foe, Virginia Wesleyan University and Salisbury University.
HOW IT HAPPENED vs VIRGINIA WESLEYAN
- Set Scores (16-25, 25-20, 18-25, 25-27) - 3-1 Virginia Wesleyan
- After the Generals took a 5-3 lead off an Emery Goerig kill, the Marlins rattled off four straight points to take their first lead of the set. This streak featured kills from Hannah Smith and Morgan Ludovici as well as a Smith service ace.
- The Blue and White knotted the first set at 11 after a Haley Sutton service error but VWU used the W&L errors to their advantage to take a 16-11 lead.
- Back-to-back kills from Hannah Smith helped the Marlins jump out to a 21-12 lead before Emma Claytor finished off a Niya Nash assist to take the first frame 25-16.
- Grace Mitchener kicked off the scoring in the second set, finishing off an Allie Buchholz assist but Abigail Mahoney and Hannah Smith both recorded kills to flip the score to 5-2 in favor of the Marlins.
- After VWU took a 12-7 lead, W&L rattled off six straight points to take a 13-12 lead. The Blue and White's run featured two kills from Lillie Holcomb and a service ace from Buchholz.
- Holcomb finished off a Buchholz assist to help the Generals stave off a Marlins comeback late in the second set, W&L won set two 25-20.
- The Marlins jumped out to a 15-5 lead early in the third set but the Blue and White slowly chipped away, cutting the deficit to five as four different Generals recorded kills.
- VWU closed out the third frame as Morgan Ludovici recorded back-to-back kills to give the Marlins a 25-18 set three win.
- The Marlins found themselves with an early 3-0 lead as Ludovici recorded back-to-back kills and Haley Sutton recorded a service ace.
- After the Generals cut the VWU lead to 9-7, the Marlins used two-straight service aces to their advantage as they extended their lead to six.
- Virginia Wesleyan had a 24-21 lead after a Hannah Smith kill and thought they had the set within reach but the Generals roared back to tie the set at 24 after forcing three-straight attack errors.
- The Blue and White forced yet another attack error to knot the match at 25 but the Marlins closed out the set as Emma Claytor finished off a Haley Sutton assist to take the match 3-1.
W&L GAMES NOTES
- The Generals fall to 12-5 on the season and 4-3 in conference play. W&L has lost three-straight conference games for the first time in 30 years.
- The Blue and White recorded 34 kills on 162 attempts for a .074 hitting percentage.
VIRGINIA WESLEYAN GAME NOTES
- The Marlins moved to 18-2 on the season while remaining on top of the ODAC standings with an 8-0 record.
- VWU recorded 61 kills on 186 attempts for a .140 hitting percentage. During the third set, the Marlins posted a match high .282 hitting percentage.
- Virginia Wesleyan led in five of the six team categories including points (78), service aces (7), assists (61) and digs (90).
HOW IT HAPPENED vs SALISBURY
- Set Scores (9-25, 19-25, 25-23, 24-26) - 3-1 Salisbury
- The first set was all Salisbury as they jumped out to a 12-1 lead early. The Sea Gulls rattled off eight-straight points to take the first set 25-9.
- After conceding the first two points of the set, Katie Stone and Stephanie Lynch got the Generals on the board with back-to-back kills to knot the set at two.
- The Sea Gulls went on a 6-1 run to take a 9-3 lead after two kills from Jackie Mitchell and Natalie Uibel.
- After back and forth action, Avery Myers kicked off a five point swing by finishing off a Buchholz assist to cut the deficit to one.
- Jackie Mitchell closed out the set for the Sea Gulls as she finished off a Julie Altieri assist to take the second set, 25-19.
- The Generals found themselves down 6-3 early in the third set but the Blue and White took advantage of back-to-back errors by the Sea Gulls to take an 11-6 lead. The W&L eight point run featured kills from Lynch, Mitchener, and Buchholz as well as two service aces from McKenna Cook.
- The Blue and White were the first team to score 20 in the set as Maddie Weller finished off a Buchholz assist to take a 20-17 lead.
- Salisbury cut the Generals lead to one but a Kiley McTaggart attack error gave W&L a 25-23 set three win.
- Following a four point swing for the Sea Gulls, Alyssha McGuire and Diane Pierre-Louis recorded kills to cut the lead to 5-2.
- Salisbury took a 17-11 lead after Gwen Eustace and Julie Altieri each recorded kills but two Sea Gull attack errors and a Riley Debiec kill cut that lead to three.
- After the Sea Gulls held a 20-17 advantage, the Generals went on a five point swing which featured three kills from Mitchener and a service ace from Vivi Vasquez to put the Blue and White in front 22-20.
- The Generals were within one point of forcing a fifth set but the Sea Gulls rattled off five straight points to take the set 26-24.
W&L GAMES NOTES
- The Generals drop their fourth-straight game of the season as they fall to 12-6 on the season.
- W&L recorded 37 kills on 174 attempts for a season-low .017 hitting percentage. They led the match with six service aces.
SALISBURY GAME NOTES
- The Sea Gulls move to 11-5 on the season, winning their fourth-straight game.
- Salisbury recorded 56 kills on 174 attempts for a .155 hitting percentage; they had a match-high .333 hitting percentage in the first set.
- The maroon and gold led five of the six team categories including blocks (16), assists (54) and digs (90).
TOP PERFORMERS
- Grace Mitchener led the Generals with 15 kills on 72 attempts for a .083 hitting percentage. She averaged 1.88 kills per set. Lillie Holcomb recorded 12 kills in both matches today on 61 attempts for an average 2.00 kills per set.
- Allie Buchholz dished out 55 assists on 233 attempts for a .236 setting percentage, she averaged 6.88 assists per set while leading the team with three service aces.
- Buchholz led the Generals with 28 digs while Penelope Quiles dug out 26 attacks in eight sets. Vasquez and Mitchener each dug out 24 attacks.
- Emery Goerig and Avery Myers each recorded a team-high five blocks while Holcomb, Ryan Taylor, Buchholz, Lynch and Debiec each recorded four blocks.
UP NEXT
- The Generals return to Holekamp Gym on Friday, Oct. 13 for a Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) match with the Guilford College Quakers. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the United States and a top-ranked liberal arts university. With over 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated over 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.
