WINCHESTER, Va – The Shenandoah University women's volleyball team made their home debut during the Shenandoah Invitational at the James Wilkins Jr. Athletic and Events Center. The Hornets (3-2) took care of the Fighting Squirrels from Mary Baldwin (1-4) in straight sets.
Game One
In the first set, Mary Baldwin jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, but the Hornets ended that threat quickly and took the lead 3-2 and would not look back for the rest of that first set. Shenandoah would fight off some late Mary Baldwin attacks and rushes, but it would not be enough to overcome the Hornet attack.
Jillian Warter led the attack for Shenandoah with nine kills in the first set.
Regan Minney and
Aaliyah Chunn both chipped in with six kills each in the match to help the Hornets take the first set by a score of 18-25.
In the second set, it was all Shenandoah. As the Hornets would jump out to an early lead and dominate through the entire set. Shenandoah would easily win set two by a score of 10-25. The Fighting Squirrels tried to make a comeback, but the Hornets easily diffused the attack. In a truly dominating fashion, Mary Baldwin only scored back-to-back points in the set once. Shenandoah quickly responded with a four-point run, a five-point run, and finally, a three-point run to finish off the Fighting Squirrels.
In the third set of game number one, Shenandoah would jump out to an 8-3 lead after an ace from
Kylie Danella, one of five aces in the match. Back-to-back kills from
Brooke Gast and
Regan Minney increased the Hornet lead to 14-8. But a late Mary Baldwin push saw five unanswered points which would pull the Fighting Squirrels within one (16-15). However, the Hornets would rattle off four unanswered points of their own, capped with an ace from
Cara Butler. One final push from Mary Baldwin would pull the visiting team again within one point, but then after a bad set from the Fighting Squirrels, that was the ball game as Shenandoah would take the third set 25-23.
Game Two
In the nightcap of the Shenandoah (3-3) would drop a heartbreaker in five sets to Misericordia (4-2) in an all-out back-and-forth battle. Shenandoah took set one 23-25, before dropping set two to the Cougars 25-23. In the third set, the Hornets would again be victorious by a score of 23-25. The fourth set could not be decided in regulation and saw Misericordia pick up the win 29-27. Then in the fifth and deciding set, the Hornets would make a valiant effort, but run out of steam and fall to the Cougars by a score of 15-11.
Jillian Warter again led the Hornets with kills, as the senior from Leesburg, Va would add to her impressive start of the season with 15 more kills on the evening.
Brooke Gast would chip in with 10 kills of her own, respectfully, while
Abby Lichtenfels would dish out 42 helpers on the evening.
Natalie Reader led the team with 14 digs.
It is a quick turnaround for the Hornets as day two of the Shenandoah Invitational kicks off at 10:30 am when Shenandoah will take on Hood. To end the invitational, Shenandoah will face-off with Gallaudet, with that match scheduled to start at 2:30 pm.
