LANCASTER, Pa. - The ninth-ranked Washington and Lee University women's volleyball team picked up a pair of wins at the Franklin and Marshall Tri-Match while head coach
Bryan Snyder '95 secured his 700th career win on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED vs FRANKLIN AND MARSHALL (W&L 3-0 | 25-22, 25-15, 25-23)
- Grace Mitchener opened the match with a kill that set up a 5-0 run to give the Generals (10-0) an early lead. The surge included two service aces from Emily Schellenberg and another Mitchener kill. Franklin & Marshall (7-1) answered with a 4-1 run to cut the margin to two, but W&L responded with four straight points, capped by kills from Emery Goerig and Mitchener, to go ahead 10-4. After the Diplomats closed within two again, the Generals rattled off a 5-1 run, highlighted by two Debiec kills and three F&M errors, to stretch the lead to 16-10. F&M battled back to tie the set at 19 before W&L closed strong—two Hamil kills, a Debiec finish, and an Addi Johnson ace gave the Blue and White a 24-19 lead, and Debiec sealed the 25-22 win off a Nichoson set.
- The second set was competitive early, with F&M knotting the score at 6-6 on a Ceci Connolly kill. A 4-1 Generals run followed, fueled by a Reese Gilla kill, a Penelope Quiles service ace, and a Goerig/Schellenberg block. After the Diplomats cut the deficit to one, W&L broke the set open with an 8-1 stretch, featuring two Hamil kills and a Goerig/Hamil block, for a 19-11 lead. The Generals closed on a 5-1 run, including kills from Debiec, Schellenberg, and Allison Young, to wrap up a 25-15 victory.
- In the third, the set was tied at 6-6 after a Hamil kill before F&M edged ahead 9-7 with a 3-1 run. Back-to-back Debiec kills evened the score at 9-9, and the teams traded points until the Diplomats went on a 4-1 run for a 17-15 lead. After an attacking error and a block from Mya Anderson and Carly Campbell pushed F&M ahead 21-18, W&L rallied with a 5-1 run to reclaim the lead at 23-22. The stretch featured two Hamil kills, one from Gilla, and a Hamil block. Back-to-back F&M attacking errors closed out the set 25-22 and secured the sweep for the Blue and White.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Hamil led the Generals with a career-high 12 kills on 32 attempts with just three errors for a .281 hitting percentage. Melissa Benkowitz and Ceci Connolly paced the Diplomats with 13 kills apiece.
- Nichoson directed the offense with a match-high 21 assists, adding 11 digs and a service ace for her third double-double of the season. Carly Campbell tallied 20 assists for Franklin & Marshall, while Liah Perez contributed 19.
- Defensively, Vivi Vasquez anchored W&L with a match-high 18 digs, while Coco Shultz recorded 15 for the Diplomats.
HOW IT HAPPENED vs KEYSTONE (W&L 3-0 | 25-10, 25-9, 25-21)
- The Generals opened the first set with a 5-1 run, highlighted by back-to-back kills and a service ace from Lexie Stone, along with a kill from Katie Stone. Keystone (0-6) answered with three straight points to cut the deficit to one, but W&L responded with a dominant 13-1 run to build a commanding 21-8 lead. The run featured kills from L. Stone, Young, Diane Pierre-Louis, and a Quiles service ace. The Blue and White closed the set on a 4-1 stretch, capped by two more L. Stone kills, to claim a 25-10 victory.
- Keystone struck first in the second set, but the Generals quickly answered with a 6-1 run. Madeline Sallee recorded two kills during the stretch, while K. Stone added a kill and L. Stone served an ace. After the Giants pulled within three, W&L broke the frame wide open with a 14-1 run, powered by two kills each from Young and Stephanie Lynch, as well as three Quiles service aces, en route to a 25–9 win.
- The third set saw Keystone push ahead 11-6 after four unanswered points, but W&L fought back with two straight points on an attacking error and a Turi Trainor service ace. The Giants later extended their lead to 17-12, but the Generals rallied with a 9-1 run to take a 21-18 advantage. The run included three kills from Schellenberg, one each from Gilla and Hamil, a Vasquez ace, and a Gilla/Schellenberg block. W&L closed the set with a 4-1 stretch, as Hamil notched a kill and Goerig and Nicholson combined for a block on Indya Rogers to secure the 25-21 win.
TOP PERFORMERS
- L. Stone led all players with a career-high seven kills on 23 swings for a .200 hitting percentage, while Sallee added a career-high five kills in the win. Indya Rogers paced Keystone with six kills on 16 attempts for a .188 hitting percentage.
- Hailey Mowry of Keystone led the match with 10 assists while also contributing nine digs. Addi Johnson dished out a team-high nine assists for the Generals, while Turi Trainor added eight.
- Quiles led the match with a career-high four service aces and 16 digs. Stone also tallied a career-best 11 digs. Nataly Bermudez and Serenity Marshall of Keystone joined them in double figures with 13 and 11 digs, respectively.
W&L GAME NOTES
- With the pair of wins, the Generals moved to 10-0 on the season with nine sweeps. The wins helped Bryan Snyder '95 surpass 700 career wins, making him the 25th head coach in Division III women's volleyball history to do so. He also ranks sixth among active head coaches in wins.
- The Blue and White recorded 68 kills on 217 attempts for a .221 hitting percentage this weekend, averaging 11.33 kills per set. They recorded 16 service aces in the two matches while digging out 115 attacks, an average of 19.17 per set.
UP NEXT
- The Generals will continue conference play on Friday, Sept. 19 as they travel to Lynchburg, Va. to take on the WildCats of Randolph College 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.
