The University of Mary Washington volleyball team kept its hopes of repeating as Capital Athletic Conference champions alive on Wednesday night, defeating Southern Virginia University in three games at Ron Rosner Arena, 25-17, 25-18, 25-22. The Eagles improve to 19-9 on the season.
Mary Washington jumped ahead early, scoring the first four points of the night, with kills from junior Leslie Walters and sophomore Savannah Powers. The Knights battled back to take a 9-8 lead, and led 10-9 before four straight Eagle points regained their lead at 13-10. With a 14-13 lead, UMW netted four more straight points to grab an 18-13 advantage. An attack error gave the Eagles a 21-17 lead, and UMW scored the final five points for a 25-17 victory.
In the second, UMW again started strong, taking a 7-2 lead after a block by freshman tenley Hares and Powers. Once again, the Knights responded,gaining five of six points to take a 9-8 advantage. Kills by Walters and Hares upped the lead to 15-10, and a four-point rally gave the Eagles a 19-12 advantage. The Eagles reached game point at 24-15, and after three SVU points, gained the deciding point on a serve error.
The third game saw UMW jump out to an 8-3 lead, keyed by kills from sophomore Peyton Dunow and Powers. The Eagles led, 12-6, before a Knight comeback drew them to within 13-10. UMW led 15-10 before a four-point run cut the margin to one. The action continued back and forth until SVU took a 20-19 lead. Dunow registered a kill to kick start three straight points in giving the Eagles a 22-20 lead.After an attack error, UMW gained three of the final four points, with Waltes gaining a kill on the final point.
The Eagles were led by Walters and Powers, who each recorded seven kills, while Dunow and Hares each added six. Wren Berry recorded 22 assists and six digs, while Dunow led with 11 digs. Hares had one solo block and a pair of assists.
UMW will advance to the CAC Championship on Saturday, to be played at noon at Christopher Newport University at noon.