LEXINGTON, Va. --- The top-seeded Washington and Lee volleyball team won the final five points of the match to sweep third-seeded Virginia Wesleyan, 3-0, and win the 2021 ODAC Championship on Sunday in Holekamp Gym.
The Generals (26-7) trailed the Marlins (23-9) in the third, 23-20. W&L called timeout, and out the break notched three straight kills with two from sophomore outside hitter Sydney Heifner (Nashville, Tenn./Harpeth Hall) and one from senior right side Carson Allsteadt (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan).
With the score knotted at 23-23, first-year middle blocker Emma Claytor hit it out of bounds to give the Blue and White a championship point opportunity at 25-24. Junior setter Ashley Webb (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake) served the ball to the far-left corner of the court, and it bounced off a VWU back row player and toward the stands for an ace to win the championship for the Generals.
W&L took the first two sets in the contest, 25-17 and 25-17. The Blue and White trailed in the second, 6-4, but then tallied 10 straight points to assume control of the frame.
Senior outside hitter Val Sokolow (Draper, Utah/Juan Diego Catholic) and Heifner each totaled 11 kills to lead the Generals. Sokolow also had 12 digs, while Heifner chipped in eight. Allsteadt registered nine kills. With the 12 kills, Heifner moved to 10th on the W&L single-season kills list with 417.
Webb ended the match with 34 assists, eight digs, three blocks and the game-deciding ace. Junior defensive specialist Caroline Gard (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy) had 12 digs and four assists. Junior middle blocker Katy Blain (West Palm Beach, Fla./Benjamin School) contributed six kills and a match-high seven blocks. With her 12 digs, Gard moved to eighth on the W&L single-season digs list with 495.
Following the conclusion of the contest, Sokolow, Blain and Heifner were each named to the ODAC All-Tournament Team.
Senior middle blocker Sydney Collins and Claytor each led Virginia Wesleyan with six kills. Claytor also had six blocks.
This marks the second straight ODAC Championship for the Generals and the 18th in program history. It is also the second straight season they have won the ODAC Tournament without dropping a set.
With the win, W&L has secured the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Championship. The team will find out who and where it plays during the NCAA selection show for volleyball on Monday at 12:30 pm on NCAA.com.
ODAC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
- Grace Hayes, Bridgewater
- Sydney Koch, Randolph-Macon
- Emma Claytor, Virginia Wesleyan
- Alexis Davies-Hackenberg, Virginia Wesleyan
- Val Sokolow, Washington and Lee
- Katy Blain, Washington and Lee
- Sydney Heifner, Washington and Lee