LEXINGTON, Va. --- Behind a combined 25 kills from senior outside hitters Leah Green (Longwood, Fla. / Lake Highland Preparatory School) and Brynne Gould (Boone, N.C./Watauga), the 22nd-ranked and top-seeded Washington and Lee volleyball team defeated sixth-seeded Randolph-Macon, 3-0, to claim the 17th ODAC Championship in program history on Saturday evening at Holekamp Gym.
With the victory, the Generals (16-0) recorded the first undefeated season in program history.
Tied, 16-16, midway through the first set, W&L notched three straight points, capped on a kill by junior outside hitter Carson Allsteadt (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan), to assume a 19-16 advantage. The Yellow Jackets (8-5) trimmed the lead to 21-20, but then an attack error by R-MC gave the Blue and White a two-point edge.
The margin was down to one (23-22) following a kill by the Randolph-Macon, but then a service error and a combined block from Gould and junior middle blocker Katy Blain (West Palm Beach, Fla./Benjamin School) secured the set, 25-22, for the Generals.
W&L raced out to a 7-0 lead in the second, but R-MC answered with a 9-2 run to tie the score, 9-9. The set was knotted, 11-11, four points later, but a kill by Green ignited a 6-2 spurt to put the Blue and White in front, 17-13.
The advantage was down to three (22-19) after a few rallies, but the Generals claimed three of the next four points, with Green recording the third on a kill, to give W&L the set, 25-20.
In the third, the Blue and White again took an early lead (6-2), but Randolph-Macon held steady once more and were back within three, 14-11, later in the stanza. An 8-2 W&L onslaught, highlighted by two kills from Gould, effectively put the set away, pushing the Generals ahead, 22-13. Leading 24-16, Green punctuated the night with a kill, to claim the set, the match and the ODAC title for W&L.
Gould ended the match with 13 kills and 13 digs on a .333 hitting percentage. Green had 12 kills, also on a .333 hitting percentage. Sophomore defensive specialist Caroline Gard (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy) registered 20 digs.
Sophomore setter Ashley Webb (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake) tallied 31 assists, two blocks and three digs. First-year outside hitter Sydney Heifner (Nashville, Tenn./Harpeth Hall) had eight digs and three service aces.
Following the contest, Green, Gould and Gard were named to the seven-member ODAC All-Tournament Team.
Sophomore outside hitter Grace Parker led the Yellow Jackets with 12 kills and six digs. Junior defensive specialist Madison Walick added five kills and nine digs.
This is W&L's first ODAC title since the 2018 season. The 16 consecutive wins are the most for the program since winning 17 straight during the 2014 season. The Blue and White also finished this year by winning its last 18 sets.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Grace Hayes, Bridgewater College
Cara Caruso, Virginia Wesleyan University
Leslie Currie, Randolph-Macon College
Sydney Koch, Randolph-Macon College
Caroline Gard, Washington and Lee University
Brynne Gould, Washington and Lee University
Leah Green, Washington and Lee University
--- This release is courtesy of the Washington and Lee University athletic communications department. ---
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