Wash. & Lee WLU 22-9,8-3 ODAC

Va. Wesleyan VWU 31-2,11-0 ODAC

Wash. & Lee WLU

22-9,8-3 ODAC

Final

Nov. 13, 2025

Va. Wesleyan VWU

31-2,11-0 ODAC

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	5	F
Wash. & Lee WLU	26	16	25	21	17	(3)
Va. Wesleyan VWU	24	25	22	25	15	(2)

Summary
Box Score

Sideline Media

Game Recap: Volleyball | 11/13/2025 9:56:00 PM

Volleyball Knocks Off Top-Seeded VWU in Five-Set Thriller, Secures Spot in ODAC Championship

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The Washington and Lee University women's volleyball team secured their spot in their third-straight Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Championship match as they upset top-seeded and 14th-ranked Virginia Wesleyan University 3-2 on Thursday evening at the TowneBank Arena.

HOW IT HAPPENED (W&L 3-2, 26-24, 16-25, 25-22, 21-25, 17-15)

The Generals (22-9) jumped out to a 5-1 lead early in the first set after Sienna Nichoson recorded a pair of service aces and Cara Hamil registered a kill. Virginia Wesleyan (31-2) cut the lead to one with three straight points before five unanswered points from the Blue and White extended their lead to six. The run featured kills from Ava Gaines and Emery Goerig as well as a Riley Debiec service ace. W&L took a 15-10 lead following a 4-2 run which featured a pair of kills from Hamil and one from Debiec before a pair of kills and back-to-back service aces from the Marlins cut the Generals' lead to one once again. The Marlins knotted the match at 18 after scoring three unanswered points before a 4-2 run from W&L gave them a 22-20 lead. The run was fueled by two kills from Grace Mitchener and one each from Goerig and Hamil. After trading points, the Marlins recorded two straight attacking errors to secure a 26-24 win for the Generals.
An attacking error secured the first point for W&L in the second set, but the Marlins went on a 7-1 run to take an early lead before a Hamil and Debiec block slowed their momentum. However, Virginia Wesleyan produced a 10-2 run to take a 17-5 lead. The Generals battled back with a 4-1 run of their own which featured a kill from Mitchener, a block from Mitchener and Goerig, as well as a pair of service errors from the Marlins. Another 3-1 run from the Blue and White cut the deficit to eight as Mitchener recorded a kill while Goerig and Gaines teamed up for a block. Hannah Smith secured the second set with a kill, tying the match at one set apiece.
The Marlins built off their momentum from set two, opening up the third frame with a 4-1 run. After both teams traded points, the Generals went on a 9-1 run to take a 12-7 lead. The scoring stretch was highlighted by three-straight service aces and a kill from Mitchener, as well as kills from Hamil and Goerig, and an Emily Schellenberg service ace. Virginia Wesleyan followed up W&L's run with a 6-2 run of their own to cut the lead to one before the Generals took a five-point lead with a 5-1 run. Hamil and Debiec recorded kills during the run while Debiec and Gaines teamed up for a block. VWU made things interesting in the third set with a lengthy run to tie the match at 21. However, W&L capped off the set with a 4-1 run to claim the third frame 25-22 thanks to a pair of kills from Hamil and a service and attacking error from the Marlins.
The Marlins found themselves with an 8-5 lead in the fourth set after a pair of runs before the Generals rattled off three straight points thanks to kills from Hamil and Debiec to tie the set at eight. The Marlins took a 15-9 lead following a 7-1 run before both teams traded a pair of points to make it a six-point lead for the Marlins. The Blue and White cut their deficit to one thanks to five unanswered points which saw kills from Goerig and Sienna Nichoson, as well as a Schellenberg service ace and a block from Gaines and Goerig. Virginia Wesleyan used a 3-1 run to take a 20-17 lead before both teams traded points with the Marlins keeping a two-point advantage. Back-to-back kills from Niya Nash and Brianna Clay secured a 25-21 set win for the Marlins, forcing a fifth and final set.
Both teams traded points to start the set until back-to-back points from VWU gave them a two-point lead. The Generals knotted the set at five after a 3-1 run which featured two kills from Mitchener while Debiec added one. Virginia Wesleyan reclaimed the lead, going up by two following a kill from Hannah Smith before W&L rattled off three straight points to take a 9-8 lead. VWU scored four unanswered to take a 12-10 lead before the Generals reclaimed the lead after rattling off five straight points to take a 14-12 lead. The scoring stretch featured two kills from Hamil and one from Debiec, as well as a block from Debiec and Gaines. A 3-1 run from VWU tied the set at 15 before back-to-back kills from Debiec and Hamil secured the five-set upset win over the Marlins.

TOP PERFORMERS

Hannah Smith of Virginia Wesleyan led the match with 34 kills on 70 attempts with just four errors, posting an impressive .429 hitting percentage. Three other Marlins also reached double-digit kills.
On the other side, Cara Hamil matched a career-high with 21 kills on 54 swings with no errors, registering a stellar .389 hitting percentage. Grace Mitchener (14) and Riley Debiec (13) also reached double-digit kills in the win for the Generals.
Smith led both teams with 38 digs, while teammates Madi Schmidt and Skylar Rivers each recorded 20 or more digs. For the Generals, Vivi Vasquez paced the team with 28 digs, followed closely by Mitchener with 24, marking her 17th double-double of the season. Penelope Quiles also reached double digits with 15 digs.
Niya Nash dished out a match-high 65 assists for the Marlins, while Sienna Nichoson led the Generals with 41 assists, marking her third match this season with 40 or more assists.
From the service line, Smith added another match-high with seven aces, and Kathryn Liles chipped in with two. For W&L, Mitchener recorded three service aces, while Nichoson and Emily Schellenberg each added two.
At the net, Ava Gaines posted a match- and career-high six blocks, while Debiec added four and Emery Goerigcontributed three. For Virginia Wesleyan, Brianna Clay led with four blocks, and Alexis Shaw and Breana Brookseach recorded three.

W&L GAME NOTES

With the win, the Generals moved to 22-9 on the season while punching their ticket to their third-straight and 27th overall ODAC Championship match. The win also marked their fourth win in the last five meetings between the two teams, with two of those coming in the conference semifinals and one in the conference championship last season.
W&L recorded 58 kills on 199 attempts with 14 errors for a .221 hitting percentage including a match-high .323 clip in the fifth set. The Generals recorded 107 digs in tonight's match, which is tied for the fourth-most in a single match in program history.

UP NEXT

The Generals will travel to Bridgewater College on Saturday for the ODAC Championship. The two squads will meet in the conference finals for the first time since 2007 at Nininger Hall with a match time to be announced.