GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Shenandoah University women's volleyball team closed out a dominant doubleheader sweep on Saturday afternoon at the Ragan-Brown Field House on the campus of Guilford College. After comfortably sweeping host Guilford College 3-0 in their morning Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) match, the Hornets dug deep to outlast Carolina University in a thrilling five-set marathon in the afternoon slate.
Game 1: Shenandoah 3, Guilford 0
Shenandoah (7-5, 2-2 ODAC) set the tone early in the day, controlling the tempo from start to finish to sweep Guilford (4-11, 2-1 ODAC) in straight sets (25-16, 25-16, 25-18).
The Hornets posted an efficient .300 hitting percentage as a team while holding the Quakers to just .086.
Ashlynn Spence delivered an attacking masterclass, leading all players with 11 kills on 17 total attacks with just one error to finish with a stellar .588 hitting percentage. Spence also added six total blocks (one solo, five assists) to anchor the defense.
Hannah Hylton added nine kills and nine digs, while setter
Susan Smith orchestrated the offense with 15 assists.
Amanda Schaffer added 14 assists and three service aces of her own as Shenandoah racked up 12 total aces in the match.
Guilford was led by Olivia Thorne's nine kills and Chrisbel Alcantara's eight kills, but the Quakers were plagued by 19 attack errors and 12 reception errors.
Game 2: Shenandoah 3, Carolina University 2
In the second match of the day, Shenandoah pulled off a gritty 3-2 victory (25-17, 23-25, 25-18, 21-25, 15-12) over Carolina University (10-9) in a neutral-site thriller.
Ashlynn Spence once again spearheaded the Hornets' offense, smashing a game-high 19 kills while hitting .471, supplemented by three blocks.
Hannah Hylton posted a double-double, filling up the stat sheet with 14 kills, 13 digs, and four service aces.
The match saw momentum swing back and forth throughout. After Shenandoah took the opening set 25-17, Carolina U answered back behind strong net play from Melia Coleman (9 kills, 8 blocks) and SarahElizabeth Samuels (12 kills) to edge out the second set 25-23.
The Hornets reclaimed the advantage in set three, taking it 25-18, but the Bruins refused to go quietly, battling back to win set four 25-21 and force a decisive fifth set.
In the final frame, Shenandoah's ball distribution made the difference. Setters
Susan Smith (23 assists) and
Vanessa Rodriguez (19 assists) kept the Bruins' defense guessing.
Kamryn Keasey was key on the defensive front with seven total block assists, helping Shenandoah lock down the final points to secure the 15-12 set win and the match victory.
UP NEXT
For the first time since September 1st, the Hornets return home for a midweek ODAC contest against EMU. First serve is set for 6pm.
#GoSUHornets
