Box Score VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Chrisbel Alcantara (San Juan, P.R.) recorded seven kills in the first set, helping lead the Quakers to a set-one victory. However, the Guilford College volleyball team ultimately fell to Virginia Wesleyan University in a 3-1 gentleman's sweep (25-16, 21-25, 19-25, 16-25) on Friday evening at TowneBank Arena in the Jane P. Batten Student Center.
Guilford walks away with an 8-11 record, 4-4 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) while Virginia Wesleyan rises to 18-3, 8-1 in the ODAC.
Statistical leaders for GC included Alcantara who tallied 17 kills, tying her season-best in a four-set match,
Kaci Johnson (Winterville, N.C.) who had 11 kills,
Natalie Moore (Talbott, Tenn.) with a solid overall performance of eight kills paired with nine digs, and
Maddi Page (Jonesboro, Ga.) who had the game-high in assists with 35.
Key factors for VWU were Madi Schmidt who tied the game-high in kills with 17, Hannah Smith with a kill/dig double-double with 13 and 14, respectively, and Madeleine Hanes with game-high 21 digs.
In set one, the Quakers were on a roll when
Kaci Johnson and Alcantara put points on the board along with an attacking and service error to make it 4-0. A kill from Moore occurred just before the Marlins answered with a 4-0 run of their own due to a kill from Schmidt and Guilford mistakes.
Vanessa Johnson (Charlotte, N.C.) added her first of five kills to the Quaker scoreboard before Virginia Wesleyan claimed their first lead of the game. Soon enough, GC delivered eight uninterrupted points and regained momentum thanks to three kills from Alcantara, another
Vanessa Johnson kill, and VWU attacking errors to make it 16-10. Three of the next four Guilford points came from Alcantara. A kill from Moore, an ace from Page, and capitalizing off of the Marlins' mistakes brought the Quakers to a set win, 25-16.
Page, Moore, Johnson & Johnson, and
Madison Duvall (Sophia, N.C.), who recorded two kills, all contributed to extending the lead 8-4. Virginia Wesleyan would then go on to score seven-consecutive points with the help of Smith, Schmidt, and Breana Brooks to reestablish the lead. Moore, who finished the night with 10.5 points, then got an ace to encourage the Quakers to go head-to-head for the next several points. After the score alternated, Johnson & Johnson, Alcantara, and Moore added points to the board to recapture a Quaker-lead 16-15. Brooks, Smith, Emma Claytor, Schmidt turned up the heat late in the set to ensure the set victory with a score of 25-21.
Set three was in VWU's favor as the Marlins jumped to a 7-1 advancement.
Kaci Johnson, who had the team's second-highest points with 13.0 alongside a solo block, and Alcantara, who performed at a .262 clip, attempted to pump up the Quakers, but Virginia Wesleyan continued to push the tempo. Before the Marlins went on a 4-1 run to make it 20-13, Page delivered a kill, and
Madison Bozarth (Greensboro, N.C.) contributed two of her three aces. Bozarth also tied for the game-high in digs with 21 and added two assists. Although
Kaci Johnson delivered her fourth kill of the set towards the end of set three, the Marlins were victorious, 25-19.
Lastly, VWU jumped on GC early in the final set despite efforts from
Kaci Johnson, Moore, and Alcantara. Virginia Wesleyan's 5-1 run extended the score to 19-11 before
Kaci Johnson, who finished with a .429 hitting percentage, along with Moore and
Vanessa Johnson, attempted a comeback. However, Virginia Wesleyan secured the set 25-16, closing out the match with a 3-1 win.
The Quakers will remain in Virginia for an 11 AM game against ODAC opponent Randolph-Macon on Saturday, October 19th.
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