LEXINGTON, Va. - The 18th-ranked Washington and Lee University women's volleyball team split their matches in Hoboken, New Jersey as they fell to Stevens in five sets before defeating Scranton in four sets.
HOW IT HAPPENED vs STEVENS (Stevens 3-2, 25-16, 25-22, 20-25, 15-25, 8-15)
- The Ducks (10-7) found themselves with a 7-3 lead early in the first set before the Generals (16-4) went on a 7-1 run to take a two-point lead. The run featured a pair of kills from Emily Schellenberg, back-to-back service aces from Reese Gilla, one ace from Penelope Quiles, and an Emery Goerig solo block. An ensuing 5-1 run for W&L put them up 15-10 thanks to two kills from Grace Mitchener, one from Goerig, and a Lexie Stone service ace. The Generals capped off the first frame with another 7-1 run to secure a 25-16 win. The scoring stretch featured a Riley Debiec kill, two blocks from Addi Johnson and Goerig, as well as a Quiles service ace.
- Both teams traded points to open the second set before Stevens went on a 3-1 run to take an 8-6 lead. The Blue and White responded with a 5-1 run of their own to take a two-point lead, thanks to a pair of kills from Debiec and one each from Mitchener and Schellenberg. After the Ducks knotted the set at 13 with a kill and service ace, the Generals rattled off four straight points to take a 17-13 lead. The scoring run featured kills from Johnson and Mitchener, as well as a L. Stone service ace. The Blue and White took a 22-16 lead following a 5-2 run which saw Debiec and Gilla each record kills before a Stevens attacking error and a Schellenberg kill secured a 25-22 win in the second frame.
- After Mitchener secured a kill and the Ducks made an error, the Generals had a 4-2 lead early in the third set. However, Stevens rattled off four straight points to take their first lead of the set. Kills from Gilla and Debiec alongside a Mitchener service ace put the Generals on top by one. The Ducks used a 7-1 run to take a 13-8 lead, but W&L responded with a 10-1 run to reclaim the lead, 18-14. The run featured three kills from Schellenberg, one from Mitchener, and a Quiles service ace. Johnson and Goerig each had a solo block during the run while teaming up for another block as well. Stevens claimed the third set 25-20 after an 11-2 run.
- After back-and-forth action highlighted the start of set four, the Ducks took an 8-4 lead following a 6-1 run. Schellenberg and Debiec recorded back-to-back kills to cut the deficit to four before Stevens extended their lead to seven with another 4-1 run. Stevens then rattled off three straight points to take a 23-15 lead before Debiec slowed the run with a kill. However, the Ducks closed out the set with a kill and service ace to claim set four, 25-16, and force a fifth and final set.
- The Ducks took a 3-1 lead early in the final set before Goerig recorded a kill alongside a Stevens attacking error to tie the set at three. However, Stevens went on a 6-1 run to take a 9-4 lead before two kills from Schellenberg and one from Debiec made it 10-7 in favor of the Ducks. Stevens closed out the set with a 5-1 run to secure the reverse sweep win.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Debiec and Sarah Bloduc of Stevens led the match with 17 kills each. Debiec reached the mark on 49 swings with five errors for a .245 hitting percentage. Mitchener and Schellenberg were each in double figures, both recording double-doubles.
- Molly Harris of Stevens posted a match-high 60 assists while Johnson led the Blue and White with 28. Vivi Vasquez led the match with 29 digs while Schellenberg added a career-high 21 digs. Alyssa O'Neal led the Ducks with 26 digs while Lianna Schmieder dug out 23 attacks.
- Vivian Lisboa had a match-high six service aces while Quiles led W&L with three. Goerig led the match with five blocks including two solo while Johnson had four including one solo block.
HOW IT HAPPENED vs (W&L 3-1, 25-19, 22-25, 25-11, 25-16)
- After Scranton (12-7) secured the first point of the match, the Generals took a 5-1 lead thanks to a pair of kills from Debiec, one from Vasquez, and two blocks from Ryan Taylor and Debiec. W&L took a 14-8 lead following a 6-1 run which featured two kills from Mitchener and four Scranton errors. A 4-1 run from the Royals cut the lead to three before back-to-back errors kickstarted a 4-1 run which also saw kills from Schellenberg and Goerig. An ensuing 5-2 run put the Generals up 24-16 thanks to four kills from Mitchener before Debiec secured a 25-19 win with a kill.
- The Blue and White took a three-point lead to start the second set as Schellenberg recorded a kill and Johnson and Goerig teamed up for a block. Scranton followed that up with a 4-1 run to tie the set at four. The Generals used a 5-1 run to take a 9-5 lead which saw four more kills from Mitchener. However, Scranton went on an 8-2 run to take a 13-11 lead, their first lead of the set. The Royals found themselves with a 21-18 lead before an attacking error and service ace from Mitchener cut their lead to one. Scranton closed the set with a 4-2 run to claim the second frame 25-22.
- Both teams went back and forth to start the third set until the Blue and White went on a 7-1 run to take a 13-6 lead. The run featured service aces from Johnson and Cara Hamil and one kill from Mitchener. An ensuing 6-1 run gave the Generals a ten-point lead which was highlighted by two kills from Debiec, a service ace from Vasquez, and a block by Goerig and Diane Pierre-Louis. The Blue and White rattled off five straight points to secure a 25-11 set three win. The final run featured two kills from Mitchener and one from Schellenberg.
- W&L jumped out to a 4-1 lead early in the fourth set as Mitchener and Debiec each recorded a kill with Mitchener registering a solo block. Both teams traded points with the Generals maintaining a steady lead until they took a seven-point lead with a 5-1 run. The run featured kills from Debiec, Goerig, and Schellenberg, as well as a service ace from Vasquez. Another 4-1 run put the Blue and White up 23-15 thanks to kills from Debiec, Taylor, and Schellenberg before another Schellenberg kill and a Scranton attacking error secured the four-set win.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Mitchener led all players with 19 kills on 47 attempts with four errors for a .319 hitting percentage. Debiec added 15 on 35 swings with three errors for a .343 clip. Deanna Whelpley led the Royals with 14 kills on 52 attempts.
- Johnson dished out a career-high 34 assists in the win while Cammi Quirk led Scranton with 31. Vasquez dug out a match-high 30 attacks in the win while Quiles (16) and Mitchener (14) added double-digit digs. Camryn Hoffman led the Royals with 19 digs while Quirk and Maddie Forry each were in double figures.
- Danielle Kramer posted a match-high five blocks while Ryan Taylor led the Blue and White with four. Kramer and Vasquez each had a match-high two service aces.
W&L GAME NOTES
- The Generals moved to 16-4 on the season with the split. The win over Scranton marked their second win in program history over the Royals and the first since 2022.
- W&L recorded 101 kills on 352 attempts with 40 errors for a .173 hitting percentage across both matches. They dished out 92 assists while posting 14 service aces and registering 185 digs.
- Mitchener led the offense with 34 kills on 104 swings with eight errors for a .250 hitting percentage. Debiec followed closely behind with 32 kills on 84 attempts with eight errors for a .286 clip. Johnson dished out 62 assists across both matches this afternoon, while Vasquez led the team with 59 digs.
- Goerig led the team with seven blocks while Johnson added six. Quiles posted a team-high four service aces this weekend.
UP NEXT
- The 18th-ranked Generals are back in Holekamp gym on Tuesday, Oct. 14 as they welcome Eastern Mennonite University for an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) match at 6:30 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.