The 22nd ranked University of Mary Washington volleyball team gained a pair of victories on Saturday, topping SUNY New Paltz by a 3-0 score before defeating Franklin & Marshall College by a 3-1 decision. UMW improves to 6-6 on the season.
The Eagles started the day with a 3-0 win over SUNY New Paltz. Game scores were 25-14, 25-21, 25-21.
In the first game, the Eagles recorded 13 kills against three errors for a .357 hitting average en route to the 25-14 win. UMW was strong from the start, scoring the first six points en route to a 9-2 advantage. New Platz made a run to cut the deficit to 10-6, but two straight points, including a kill from sophomore Peyton Dunow, return the lead to six, at 12-6. UMW would go on to score six straight points to take a 10-point lead at 18-8. Dunow had a kill and two aces, and sophomore Savannah Powers added a pair of kills in the run.
In the second, New Paltz jumped on top, 4-1, and held the lead until a five-point outburst from UMW gave the Eagles the lead at 12-11. The teams traded points throughout the rest of the game, with the Eagles coming away with the 25-21 win.
The third game saw the teams continue to trade points early on, until UMW recorded five of six points to take a 10-7 advantage. Dunow had three straight kills to expand the lead. New Paltz responded with three straight to tie the score, and held one point leads at 13-12 and 14-13. UMW rallied for five of the next six points to grab an 18-15 advantage, but again New Paltz answered, scoring four straight for a 19-18 lead.
Skyler Sisk connected for an ace and a kill as UMW scored three straight for a 21-19 lead, and the Eagles scored four of the final six points for the win.
Powers led the Eagles with 16 kills, while Dunow added 13. Wren Berry recorded 37 assists, while Ryan Cho led the way with 13 digs. Dunow had four aces and 11 digs, and Sisk had five total blocks.
The Eagles then took on Franklin & Marshall, and after dropping the first, 26-24, wn the next three, 25-16, 25-22, 25-21.
In the first, UMW sprinted ahead to a 7-2 lead. Leslie Walters and Powers each had two kills to start the Eagles off. The Eagles maintained a lead until six straight points from the Diplomats yielded a 23-20 lead. A pair of Powers kills and an ace from Berry cut the deficit to 24-23, and an error tied the score. But F&M scored the next two points to take game one, 26-24.
The Eagles jumped out to an 11-4 lead in the second, with aces from Maya Takashima, Powers, and Sisk. Six straight from the Eagles upped the lead to 18-8, and a kill from freshman Tenley Hares and an ace from Sisk capped the game, 25-16, for UMW.
In the third, F&M grabbed an 11-8 lead after tight back and forth action early, but the Eagles reeled off 10 straight points to lead, 18-11. Dunow led the charge with an impressive seven kills in the run. The Diplomats were able to trim the deficit to three at 22-19, but the Eagles held on for the 25-22 win.
The fourth game saw the teams trade points until three straight from F&M handed them a 9-6 lead. UMW was able tot ie the score at 12-12, and three straight subsequent points, fueled by another Dunow point, gave the Eagles a 15-12 lead. The Diplomats answered and the score was tied at 16, 17, and 18, before UMW scored three straight, thanks to a pair of Walters aces. A pair of Dunow kills and another from Powers closed out the game and match.
Dunow led the way with 21 kills and 11 digs, and Powers scored 14 kills and six digs. Walters added 11 kills and the three big aces. Berry had 46 assists and seven digs, and Jenna Yost provided 11 digs as well.
UMW will be back in action next Saturday when they host Washington & Lee University at 3 p.m.