ASHLAND, Va. --- No. 2 Virginia Wesleyan College is heading to its first-ever Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Championship with a 25-13, 25-21, 25-21 victory over No. 3 Washington and Lee University on Saturday afternoon.
The victory also gives the Marlins a program-record 25 wins, breaking the previous mark of 24 set last season.
Virginia Wesleyan controlled the first two sets behind an impressive hitting effort by the team. The Marlins posted a .353 mark in the first set before pouring in a .464 total in the second set.
The Generals made a push to take the second set from the Marlins as Mackenzie Shand and Anna Lausberg posted back-to-back kills to cut the VWC lead to 23-21, forcing Marlin coach Andrea Hoover to call a timeout.
VWC came out of the break with a kill from Tiffany Barrett before an attack error from W&L sealed the second set for the Marlins.
Washington and Lee looked strong early in the third set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead and going point-for-point to hold a 7-3 advantage.
The Marlins continued to hit the ball well in the set, a big reason why they came back against a Generals squad that was finally heating up.
Trailing 13-8, VWC went on a 6-0 run to take its first lead of the set. Barrett got the rally started with a kill followed up by a Kirstin Sessoms service ace. Three General errors and a kill by Rosalind Ludovici off a Sessoms assist capped off the run for the Marlins.
The Generals tied it back up at 14 when Lausberg posted a kill from Elena West, but the Marlins reeled off four of the next five points for a 18-15 edge. Washington and Lee would get no closer than two the rest of the way.
Lausberg had 15 kills for No. 3 Washington and Lee (18-15) while West finished with 29 assists and Katie Volk added 15 digs.
Barrett paced the Marlins with 16 kills and seven digs. Sessoms finished with 17 assists as Emilee Pierson added 16 helpers while Marin Crowder dug out 10 balls.
No. 2 Virginia Wesleyan (25-9) will face No. 1 Randolph-Macon College (24-7) in the ODAC Championship at 5 p.m.
--- This release is courtesy of the Virginia Wesleyan College sports information department. ---
www.vwcathletics.com