VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. --- Michaela Holbrooks' swing started to pick up strength and speed as Wednesday's Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) quarterfinal volleyball match progressed at Virginia Wesleyan College.
A few timely kills here and there, turned into several hards later, before it became hammer time for the Virginia Wesleyan senior. Holbrooks (Brookneal/Naruna William Campbell) produced an impressive night near the net, higlighted by several monster kills through the third and fourth sets that helped carry the host Marlins to a thrilling 3-1 victory over the scrappy Wasps of Emory & Henry College at the Jane P. Batten Student Center.
The victory improved VWC's record to 24-9, setting a record for victories in the 12-year-old program. It also advances the No. 2 seeded Marlins to the ODAC semifinals for the seventh time in program history, including five times under the direction of head coach Andrea Hoover. The Marlins will play at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8, at Randolph-Macon College, taking on the Generals (25-6) of Washington and Lee University.
Holbrooks matched a career-high with 13 kills, leading Virginia Wesleyan in a spike-for-spike battle with the No. 7 seeded Wasps (18-12). While the Marlins recorded 47 kills in the match, Emory & Henry finished with 46, led by Hannah Doss (Meadowview/Patrick Henry) with 12. Both teams recorded 44 assists and both teams finished with 87 digs.
That kind of closeness was reflected in tightly played third and fourth sets, after both teams recorded set wins. Virginia Wesleyan opened with a 25-16 decision, Emory & Henry answered with a 25-18 win, and VWC took the last two, 25-20 and 26-24.
While Holbrooks' effort was key for the Marlins, who competed without kills leader Alex Lambert who was sidelined with an injury, she had a lot of help. After the eighth tied score in a back-and-forth third set, junior Rosalind Ludovici (Virginia Beach/First Colonial) and rookie Ashley Bologna (Virginia Beach/Floyd E. Kellam) came through with big kills in a three-point run that gave the Marlins a 19-16 edge.
Tristen Pennington (Kingsport, Tenn./Sullivan South), a hard-hitting leader for the Wasps throughout the match, stopped the run with a kill, but VWC came right back. Sophomore Jessica Quinlan (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) slammed the ball to the court and junior Marin Crowder (Charlottesville/Crozet Western Albemarle) served an ace to push the Marlins into a 22-17 lead.
Set four started with a 2-0 lead for the Wasps, but rookie Emilee Pierson (Sterling Park/Park View) kept the spread from growing as she served back-to-back aces to create the first tie. There were 13 ties after that as both teams responded in pressure-packed situations to score points. The set was never separated by more than two points.
While 6-foot-1 rookie Ali Singleton (Mount Jackson/Stonewall Jackson), 6-0 Anika Constantinescu (Surry, British Columbia/Panorama Ridge), and Pennington came up big for Emory & Henry, junior Kirstin Sessoms (Virginia Beach/Bayside), Pierson, Crowder, Quinlan, Ludovici, and Bologna all contributed to the VWC effort.
Then Holbrooks and sophomore Tiffany Barrett (Stafford/North Stafford) took over for the Marlins. Holbrooks produced three of the Marlins' final five kills and Barrett recorded the other two, that latter's tying the match at 24 and giving VWC the winning point at 26.
Barrett finished with 10 kills and 16 digs, while Sessoms recorded 35 assists and 15 digs. Crowder led the match with 26 digs. Pierson finished with three aces and 12 digs and rookie Liz Bailey (Chesapeake/Greenbrier Christian) added 11 digs.
Leaders for Emory & Henry included Singleton with 10 kills, Pennington with 10 kills and 19 digs, Emily Hinshaw (Boone, N.C./Watauga) with 22 digs, and Maleah Neely (Hillsville/Carroll County) with 41 assists and 15 digs.
-- This release is courtesy of the Virginia Wesleyan College sports information department. --