Volleyball dominates this week, earning two big wins

By MADISON PACE

Staff Writer

UMW’s varsity volleyball team dominated the conference games against Marymount last Wednesday and Saint Mary’s on Saturday. Between the two games, there were a total of 87 kills, 85 aces from serves, and 85 digs.

The starting players for these games were Leslie Walters, Peyton Dunow, Kendal Hall, Wren Berry, Ryan Cho and Skyler Sisk. During the first set, Marymount took the lead in the beginning, but the Eagles pulled together and won. Throughout the first set, our lady Eagles had 17 kills overall performed by Dunow, Sisk, Walters, Savannah Powers, Tenley Hares, Jenna Yost and Nadja Dozier.

After winning set one, our lady Eagles’ confidence level rose as they took on set two. Unfortunately, with the loss of set one, Marymount fought back. Towards the end, the Eagles’ student section began cheering loudly to boost our ladies’ confidence and defend home court. In order to win a set, a team must win by two points.

In this situation, the teams went back and forth, causing the score to exceed by twenty-five. Set two ended with a kill by Waters, finalizing the score at 26-24 in favor of UMW. To win a game, a team is required to win three out of five sets. With two sets completed, the lady Eagles were energized and ready to knock out set three with a win.

Fans could feel the excitement throughout the gymnasium during the third set. There were people in the stands cheering while teammates encouraged one another after each play. Set three started out slow, but, by the middle of the set, the Eagles took the lead.

Overall, Wednesday’s game was a win for UMW.

After the win on Wednesday night, the lady Eagles had one last game left, which took place last Saturday. On average, a college volleyball game normally lasts close to two hours long, but Saturday’s the game only lasted a little over an hour.

The Eagles won 3-0 with scores of 25-19 for the first set, 25-14 for the second, and 25-18 for the third.

After both wins, the lady Eagles now have a 9-6 record. There are eleven games, including four that will be played at home, left in the season.

Back in August, UMW  earned the top spot in the 2017 Capital Athletic Conference Volleyball Preseason Rankings with 79 votes and seven first place votes. The Capital Athletic Conference Tournament will take place towards the end of October with the CAC First Round and the beginning of November with the CAC Tournament Championship.