ATLANTA, Ga. - The Washington and Lee University women's volleyball team pulled off a pair of upset wins on the final day of the Emory National Invitational as they defeated No. 1 Centre College and No. 23 Emory University on Saturday to wrap up the regular season.
HOW IT HAPPENED vs #1 CENTRE (W&L 3-1 | 25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 25-17)
- Centre (25-3) opened the match with a 4-2 run to take an early lead before two consecutive errors and a kill from Cara Hamil gave the Blue and White (23-4) a 5-4 advantage. Following back-to-back points from the Colonels, Grace Mitchener recorded a pair of kills during a 4-1 run to put W&L ahead by two. Both teams traded points, with neither gaining more than a one-point advantage, before the Generals used a 4-1 run to take an 18-15 lead. The scoring stretch featured kills from Mitchener and Ava Gaines, while Hamil added a service ace. The Colonels battled back to cut the deficit to one before a pair of errors and a kill from Emma Mulvaney gave W&L a 22-19 advantage. Following an attacking error, the Blue and White closed the first set on a 3-1 run to claim a 25-21 victory. Mulvaney and Mitchener each recorded kills, while Gaines and Ava Fugitt teamed up for a block on the final point.
- Both teams traded points to open the second set before Centre rattled off three consecutive points to take a 6-3 lead. The Blue and White responded with five unanswered points to take a two-point advantage behind kills from Mitchener and Mulvaney, a service ace from Mitchener and a block from Emily Schellenberg and Stephanie Lynch. Following another back-and-forth stretch, W&L took a 13-9 lead with a 4-1 run that featured kills from Mulvaney and Hamil, along with a block from Gaines and Hamil. An ensuing 6-2 run from the Colonels tied the set at 15 before the Generals responded with a 5-2 scoring stretch to take a three-point lead. The run featured kills from Schellenberg, Mulvaney and Hamil, while Hamil and Gaines teamed up for another block. A 4-2 run from Centre cut the deficit to 23-22 before a kill from Gaines and a block from Mitchener and Lynch secured a 25-22 second-set victory and gave the Generals a 2-0 lead in the match.
- The Generals jumped out to a 3-2 lead in the third set after rattling off three consecutive points, highlighted by a kill and service ace from Mulvaney and a kill from Mitchener. Both teams traded points until the Blue and White used a 4-1 run, featuring four Centre errors, to take a 9-8 advantage. W&L extended its lead to 14-11 behind two blocks from Gaines and Mulvaney and a kill from Mitchener. Both teams continued to trade points, with neither holding more than a two-point advantage, before the Blue and White went on a 6-1 run to take a 23-18 lead. Mulvaney and Hamil recorded kills, Schellenberg added a service ace, and Mulvaney and Gaines teamed up for a block during the scoring stretch. However, the Colonels responded with seven unanswered points to claim a 25-23 third-set victory and extend the match.
- The Generals took an early 4-2 lead in the fourth set behind a block from Gaines and Sienna Nichoson and a kill from Gaines. The Blue and White extended their advantage to four with a 3-1 run that featured kills from Gaines and Lynch, along with a block from Claire Hargett and Lynch. The Colonels tied the set at eight with a 5-1 run of their own before W&L rattled off six unanswered points to take a commanding 14-8 lead. The scoring stretch featured four kills from Mulvaney and a service ace from Hargett. Both teams then recorded four consecutive points, with the Generals' run extending their lead to 18-12 behind kills from Schellenberg and Lynch and a service ace from Nichoson. Both teams traded points down the stretch before back-to-back kills from Hargett and Mulvaney and a Centre attacking error sealed the victory for the Generals over the No. 1-ranked team in Division III.
HOW IT HAPPENED vs #23 EMORY (W&L 3-1 | 9-25, 27-25, 25-17, 25-21)
- The Eagles (17-7) opened the match with a 10-3 run to take an early lead before a kill from Grace Mitchener slowed their momentum. Emory responded with a 12-1 run to extend its lead to 22-5 before three consecutive errors from the Eagles cut the deficit to 15. Emory closed the set on a 2-1 run to claim a 25-9 victory in the opening frame.
- Emory jumped out to an early 5-1 lead in the second set before a kill from Mitchener sparked a 6-0 run for the Blue and White to give them a 7-5 advantage. Ava Fugitt added two kills during the scoring stretch, while Ava Gaines chipped in one. Both teams traded points until the Eagles built a 22-17 lead late in the set. The Generals battled back with a 7-2 run to tie the score at 24, fueled by two service aces from Emma Mulvaney, two kills from Mitchener and a block from Fugitt and Gaines. Following a kill from Maeve Stevenson, the Generals rattled off three consecutive points to secure a 27-25 second-set victory. Mitchener had a hand in all three points, teaming up with Gaines for a block before recording back-to-back kills.
- The Blue and White jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third set behind strong play from Mitchener and Gaines. Mitchener recorded two kills, while Gaines added one, and the duo teamed up for a pair of blocks. Emory battled back to tie the set at five before kills from Mitchener and Fugitt and a service ace from Addison Evans put the Generals ahead by three. Following a 3-1 run from the Eagles, W&L responded with three unanswered points to take a 12-8 lead. The scoring stretch featured a kill from Stephanie Lynch, a service ace from Emily Schellenberg and a block from Mulvaney and Lynch. Both teams traded points, with W&L maintaining a narrow advantage, before the Generals rattled off five unanswered points to extend their lead to 21-15. Fugitt and Mitchener recorded kills during the run, while Lynch, Fugitt and Mitchener contributed blocks. Following two consecutive points from the Eagles, the Generals closed the set on a 4-0 run to secure a 25-17 victory. Evans and Lynch each recorded kills during the final scoring stretch, while Lynch and Mulvaney teamed up for a block.
- The Eagles opened the fourth set with a 5-2 lead before a 4-2 run from the Blue and White tied the score at seven. The scoring stretch featured kills from Mitchener, Schellenberg and Mulvaney, along with a block from Lynch. Both teams traded points until W&L used a 6-1 run to take a four-point advantage. Gaines, Fugitt and Hamil contributed blocks during the run, while Fugitt added a kill and Hamil recorded a service ace. Following a kill from Ella Moore, the Blue and White rattled off four unanswered points to take a 19-12 lead behind a kill from Schellenberg and a service ace from Mitchener. The Eagles chipped away at the Generals' advantage late in the set, cutting the deficit to 24-21. However, Mitchener sealed W&L's second win over a nationally ranked opponent of the day with a kill to secure a 25-21 fourth-set victory.
W&L GAME NOTES
- The Blue and White ended the regular season with a pair of top 25 wins, handing the No. 1 team in the country just their third loss of the season. W&L heads into the postseason with a 23-4 overall record, securing the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) tournament.
- W&L registered 91 kills on 349 swings with 47 errors for a .126 hitting percentage in both matches, recording 52 against Centre and 39 against Emory. They dished out 86 assists while recording 12 service aces, 185 digs and 31 blocks in the two wins on Saturday.
- Defensively, they combined to limit Centre and Emory to a .122 hitting percentage, forcing 58 errors for 378 swings.
- Grace Mitchener led the offensive efforts on Saturday, registering 36 kills on 130 swings with ten errors for a .200 hitting percentage. Emma Mulvaney added 18 in the two wins with a .149 clip. Sienna Nichoson dished out a team-high 38 assists, averaging 4.75 per set while Addison Evans added 30. Mulvaney led the team with three service aces while Emily Schellenberg, Michener and Cara Hamil each had two.
- Vivi Vasquez led the defensive efforts with 52 digs, averaging 6.50 per set while Mitchener added 41 and Mulvaney dug out 31 attacks. Ava Gaines led the team with 17 block assists and one solo block while Stephanie Lynch had 11 block assists and one solo.
TOP TEN UPDATES
- The Generals tied the program record for single-match blocks in their four set win over No. 23 Emory as they registered 18 blocks. They tied the 2021 squad who registered 18 against Virginia Wesleyan (Batten University).
- Grace Mitchener moved up to No. 3 in the program's all-time career digs list, moving past Lauren Edmonson '07, Christine Gladysz '06 and Emily Wolfing '5 with 1,558.
UP NEXT
- The Generals set their sights on the ODAC Tournament which is slated to start on Tuesday, Nov. 10 as they host Roanoke College at 6 p.m. inside Holekamp Gym.
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.
