LEXINGTON, Va. - The Washington and Lee University women's volleyball team rallied from a 2-1 deficit to upset the 17th-ranked Marlins of Batten University on Friday evening inside Holekamp Gym while Senior
Vivi Vasquez broke the program's career digs record.
HOW IT HAPPENED (W&L, 3-2 | 23-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-10, 15-10)
- The Marlins (12-2, 1-1 ODAC) opened the match with three straight points before the Generals (9-1, 2-0 ODAC) went on a 4-1 run to level the set at four with Ava Fugitt, Grace Mitchener and Reese Gilla each registered a kill during the run. Batten took an 11-5 lead following a 7-1 run before both teams traded points throughout the middle of the set. Four unanswered points from the Marlins extended their lead to 22-16 before the Blue and White went on a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to one. Cara Hamil, Mitchener and Fugitt all recorded kills during the run before a kill from Hannah Smith secured a 25-23 win for the Marlins in set one.
- The Blue and White opened the second frame on a 6-2 run, which featured a pair of kills from Mitchener and an Emily Schellenberg service ace. Batten regained the lead with an 11-2 run before kills from Hamil and Fugitt and a service error cut the deficit to three. After back-to-back points from the Marlins, the Generals went on a 10-2 scoring stretch to take a 21-18 lead. The run was fueled by seven Marlins errors, along with kills from Fugitt and Hamil and a Mitchener service ace. Batten broke up the run with back-to-back points before four unanswered points secured a 25-20 set-two win for the Generals. Emma Mulvaney registered a kill and a service ace during the run, while back-to-back Marlins attacking errors closed out the frame.
- After an opening kill from Anna Moody, Mulvaney added a pair of kills while Schellenberg found the floor on a serve to give W&L a 4-1 lead. However, the Marlins responded with an 8-2 run to take a 9-6 advantage. Both teams traded points until the Blue and White took a one-point lead following a 5-1 run, which featured a block from Mitchener and Gilla. After more back-and-forth action in which neither team gained more than a two-point advantage, Batten closed out the set on a 6-2 run to claim the third frame, 25-23.
- The fourth set was dominated by the Blue and White. Following a kill from Moody, the Generals went on an 11-2 run to take a 13-4 lead. The scoring stretch featured a pair of kills from Mulvaney and one each from Mitchener, Hamil and Ava Gaines. After Aajah Vasquez recorded a kill, the Blue and White forced a fifth set with a 10-3 scoring stretch. The final run featured a pair of service aces from Schellenberg, kills from Fugitt, Gilla and Mitchener, as well as a block by Gilla and Mitchener.
- In the fifth and final set, the teams were deadlocked at five before W&L went on a 7-2 run to take a six-point lead. The run featured kills from Mulvaney and Hamil, a service ace from Mulvaney and a pair of blocks involving Gaines, Hamil and Mitchener. A 3-1 run from the Marlins cut the Generals' lead to four before kills from Fugitt and Mulvaney secured the upset win over the 17th-ranked Marlins.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Batten's Anna Moody posted a match-high 28 kills on 79 swings with 15 errors for a .165 hitting percentage. First-year Emma Mulvaney led the Generals with 14 kills on 50 attempts with four errors for a .200 hitting percentage while adding a career-high 26 digs for her third double-double of the season. Grace Mitchener (13) and Cara Hamil (11) each reached double figures in kills, with Mitchener adding a season-high 23 digs for her seventh double-double of the season.
- Brenna Raymond led the match with 49 digs, while Hannah Smith (25), Niya Nash (14) and Caylen Carroll (12) each reached double figures. Vivi Vasquez led the Blue and White with a season-high 38 digs, while Mulvaney (26) and Mitchener (23) each posted 20 or more digs.
- Niya Nash dished out a match-high 40 assists for Batten, while Sienna Nichoson led the Generals with 24 assists and added 15 digs. Addi Johnson also reached double figures with 11 assists.
- Aajah Vasquez recorded a match-high four block assists, while Reese Gilla and Mitchener led the Blue and White with three each. Ava Gaines and Batten's Ava Baker each recorded a solo block.
- Emily Schellenberg matched a career high with four service aces in the win, while Mitchener and Mulvaney each added two. Hannah Smith led the Marlins with a pair of aces.
W&L GAME NOTES
- The Blue and White improved to 9-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play with the win while moving to 36-6 against the Marlins in the all-time series.
- W&L recorded 48 kills on 218 swings with 20 errors for a .128 hitting percentage while hitting .278 in the fourth set and .368 in the fifth. The Generals also registered eight service aces, six blocks, 44 assists and 128 digs in the win.
- Defensively, the Generals forced 43 attacking errors and limited Batten to a .075 hitting percentage, its lowest output of the season.
PROGRAM RECORD UPDATES
- With 38 digs in tonight's match, senior Vivi Vasquez moved to the top of the W&L career digs record book, surpassing Caroline Gard's '23 previous record of 1,849. Vasquez has recorded 1,859 digs in her career and ranks sixth in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) history. She is 236 digs away from breaking Samantha Sallade's (Randolph-Macon '18) conference record of 2,095.
- Vasquez's 38 digs are tied for the third-most in a single match in program history, matching Gard's 38-dig performance against Birmingham-Southern in 2019.
- The team's 218 attack attempts are the third-most in a single match in program history, while its 128 digs are the second-most.
UP NEXT
- The Generals are back in action tomorrow for another conference match as they take on Randolph-Macon College at Noon 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.
