Generals Edge WildCats to Reach ODAC Semifinals

LEXINGTON, Va. --- Behind a career-high 24 kills from junior outside hitter Anna Lausberg (Ocoee, Fla./Bishop Moore Catholic), the third-seeded Washington and Lee volleyball team edged sixth-seeded Randolph, 3-2, on Wednesday at the Warner Center in the quarterfinals of the ODAC Tournament.

The Generals (25-6) hit .609 to take the opening set, 25-11. The WildCats (19-10) were more competitive in the second, but W&L still pulled away, 25-19. Randolph responded by taking a 13-8 lead in the third, and held on to claim the set, 25-22.

The WildCats forced the match to a fifth set by winning the fourth, 25-18. W&L jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the fifth, but Randolph won five of six points to take an 8-7 advantage.

After the two teams switched sides, the Generals won the next three points (10-8) to regain the lead. From there, the Blue and White claimed five of the next seven points, with junior right sideMaddie Kosar (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) ending the match, 15-10, with an ace.

Lausberg recorded her career-high kills total on 45 attempts with only eight errors for a .356 hitting percentage. She also added 11 digs and two aces. Sophomore middle blocker Mackenzie Shand (Saline, Mich./Saline) totaled 13 kills, while hitting .346, and had seven total blocks.

Junior outside hitter Kasey Cannon (North Wales, Pa./Mt. St. Joseph Academy) tallied 12 kills, and junior Alex Kinzer (Greenville, S.C./Eastside) and first-year Elena West (Roanoke, Va./Northside) split the setting duties. Kinzer finished the match with 29 assists and six digs, while West chipped in 22 assists. First-year defensive specialist Katie Volk (Lancaster, Calif./Quartz Hill) led the team with a match-high 19 digs.

Senior outside hitter Katherine Lesnak (Blountville, Tenn./Sullivan Central) led the WildCats with 17 kills and added 12 digs. Senior outside hitter Jordan Templin (Ferrum, Va./Franklin Co.) registered 11 kills and 11 digs. Senior setter Kerry McMichael (Westminster, S.C./West Oak) recorded 37 assists.

The victory extended W&L's home winning streak to 22. The program record for consecutive home victories is 25, which happened over the 2005, 2006 and 2007 seasons.

The Generals advance to the ODAC semifinals with the victory and will play second-seeded Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday. The semifinal and championship matches will all be played on Saturday, and will be hosted by top-seeded Randolph-Macon.

--- This release is courtesy of the Washington and Lee University sports information department. ---
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