LEXINGTON, Va. – The #3 Washington and Lee University Volleyball Team (18-14) advanced to the semifinals of the 2015 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-21) win over sixth-seeded Emory & Henry College (13-17) Wednesday evening at the Warner Center.
With the victory the Generals advance to face the #4 Maroons of Roanoke College, who defeated fifth-seeded Shenandoah University by a 3-1 score.
The Generals took the first two sets thanks to strong starts and efficient hitting. Emory & Henry battled back late in both frames, but the Washington and Lee advantage was too much to overcome. In the third stanza, the Wasps broke a 7-7 tie to go up 13-9 thanks in part to a 6-2 run. Emory & Henry led 21-17 late in the third and looked to force a fourth set, but the Generals stormed back for the final eight points of the match to advance in the tournament.
Anna Lausberg had a match-high 13 kills to lead W&L and hit .281 (13-4-32) for the match, adding six digs, two ace and two blocks. Mackenzie Shand posted eight kills on .615 (8-0-13) hitting and Jenna Gustafson added five kills and two blocks. Elena West notched a double-double with 27 assists and 11 digs while Katie Volk led all players with 14 digs and three aces.
As a team, the Generals attacked a a .247 (32-10-89) percentage, including a .367 (14-3-30) margin in the opening set. Washington and Lee added eight service aces and five blocks in the match as well.
Emory & Henry was paced by sophomore outside hitter Ali Singleton (Mount Jackson, Va.) with eight kills, two service aces and two blocks. Junior middle Kennady Thomason (Chattanooga, Tenn.) had registered six kills, two aces and four blocks while junior outside hitter Tristen Pennington (Kingsport, Tenn.) added six kills, 14 assists and nine digs. Junior libero Emily Hinshaw (Boone, N.C.) tallied 12 digs as well for the Wasps.
E&H managed just a .129 hitting percentage (31-18-101) over the match and despite 10 service errors, added six aces and four blocks in the contest.
Emory & Henry will now await the announcement of the All-ODAC Teams which will be released on Saturday afternoon at the conclusion of the tournament.
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-photo courtesy of Joe Matthews