Wash. & Lee WLU 11-1,2-1 ODAC

Lynchburg Lyn 13-1,3-0 ODAC

Wash. & Lee WLU

11-1,2-1 ODAC

Final

Sep. 20, 2025

Lynchburg Lyn

13-1,3-0 ODAC

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	5	F
Wash. & Lee WLU	21	25	26	23	13	(2)
Lynchburg Lyn	25	19	24	25	15	(3)

Summary
Box Score

Keith Lucas/Sideline Media

Game Recap: Volleyball | 9/20/2025 1:59:00 PM

Debiec Notches 1,000th Career Kill, No. 6 Volleyball Drops Five Set Thriller at Lynchburg

LYNCHBURG, Va. - The sixth-ranked Washington and Lee University women's volleyball team dropped their first match of the season, falling to Lynchburg in a five set thriller while senior Riley Debeic notched her 1,000th career kill.

HOW IT HAPPENED (LYN 3-2, 21-25, 25-19, 26-24, 23-25, 13-15)

Lynchburg (13-1, 3-0 ODAC) opened the first set with a Leah DiNardo kill before Cara Hamil responded with back-to-back kills to give the Generals (11-1, 2-1 ODAC) a one-point lead. The Hornets answered with a 5-1 run, fueled by three kills and two W&L errors, to move ahead 6-3. A 7-1 stretch later in the frame extended the Lynchburg advantage to 16-8. The Generals battled back with a 7-1 run of their own, highlighted by kills from Hamil and Sienna Nichoson and a Goerig block, cutting the deficit to two. W&L closed to within 18-17 after a Debiec kill, but the Hornets responded with three straight points to pull away. Katie Hardy sealed the frame with a kill, giving Lynchburg a 25-21 win.
The Generals came out strong in the second set, jumping to a 6-1 lead behind two Debiec kills and one from Hamil. After a Lynchburg point, W&L broke the set open with a 7-1 run, featuring kills from Hamil, Debiec, and Allison Young, a Schellenberg ace, and a Goerig/Young block, to take a 15-4 lead. The Hornets rallied with a 9-1 surge to trim the margin to 21-17, but the Blue and White held on, closing the set 25-19 on two Lynchburg service errors and a Debiec kill.
In the third, W&L started with four straight points, including back-to-back Debiec kills and a Hamil ace. Lynchburg responded with an 8-1 run to take a 12-7 lead, but the Generals battled back, cutting the margin to 16-14 after kills from Hamil and Young. Later, a 5-2 W&L run brought the score to 21-20, aided by Hamil's two kills and four Hornet errors. Five more Lynchburg errors down the stretch allowed the Generals to steal the set, 26-24.
W&L again came out strong in the fourth, racing to a 6-1 lead with four Debiec kills and two Hornet errors. After trading points, the Generals stretched their lead to 17-12 following kills from Debiec and Young. Lynchburg answered with a 6-1 run to pull within one, then used another 5-1 surge to complete the comeback and take the set, 25-23, forcing a decisive fifth set.
Goerig opened the final frame with a kill, but the Hornets soon surged ahead with a 6-1 run to lead 10-5. The Generals fought back with a 4-1 stretch, featuring kills from Hamil, Debiec, and Goerig, then cut the deficit to one at 12-11 behind two more Debiec kills and another from Hamil. The teams traded points down the stretch, with Lynchburg holding a 14-13 edge before Ava Meinhardt clinched the match with a kill, giving the Hornets a 3-2 victory.

TOP PERFORMERS

Debiec led all players with 24 kills on 58 swings with just five errors for a .328 hitting percentage. Hamil continued her strong play, setting another career high with 21 kills on 59 attempts for a .203 clip. Lynchburg was paced by Katie Hardie, who tallied 18 kills on 48 swings for a .271 percentage, while Ava Meinhardt (17) and Leah DiNardo (16) also reached double figures.
Sienna Nicholson directed the Generals' offense with a career-high 45 assists while adding 11 digs. For the Hornets, Mya Green and Alexis Scipione registered 32 and 31 assists, respectively.
Defensively, Vivi Vasquez anchored W&L with a match-high 31 digs, while Hamil added a career-best 20. Lynchburg had four players in double figures, led by Kailey Keough with 19.
At the net, Goerig and Young led the Blue and White with three blocks apiece. Meinhardt matched them on the other side with a solo block and two block assists for the Hornets.

W&L GAME NOTES

The Generals suffered their first loss of the season, their first setback since falling to Hope College in the 2024 NCAA Quarterfinals. It also marked the first defeat against a conference opponent since 2023, when they dropped a straight-set match to Bridgewater College.
W&L recorded 59 kills on 173 attempts with 18 errors for a .237 hitting percentage, highlighted by a match-best .375 clip in the decisive fifth set.
Senior Riley Debiec etched her name in program history, becoming the 14th player to surpass 1,000 career kills. She now sits at 1,022 kills in her career, ranking 14th all-time and standing just 69 kills shy of moving past Hilary Martin on the career leader board.

UP NEXT

The sixth-ranked Generals are back in action on Wednesday, Sept. 24 as they continue ODAC play at Bridgewater College with first serve slated for 7 p.m.