Volleyball steam rolls over GMU for 11th win

Peter Mason
Contributing Writer

VCU’s women’s volleyball made easy work of Atlantic 10 conference foe George Mason University on Friday, Oct. 18 to register their 11th win of the season.

Match one began with a 12-12 tie before a 10-3 spark by the Rams handed them the first match. In match two, VCU jumped out to an 8-0 start with a kill from senior Janelle Sykes. After taking an 18-6, VCU finished the round with a 25-17 advantage. After leading in match two, everything was in favor of VCU.

Match three began with a 3-3 tie. Freshman Jessica Young provided two of those three points, along with an attack error to keep GWU from getting too far ahead of the Rams. From there, VCU managed to build up their lead to a 20-9 deficit, knocking the Patriots down not just from the match, but from the game. GWU managed six more points to VCU’s five, before the Rams eventually won 25-16 en route to a 3-0 victory.

The Patriots never managed to score more than 20 points on the Rams, in any of the three matches of the game.

Young led the Rams in kills with 12 total, junior Kalah Jones totaled 11 and Sykes scored 10. Freshman Rebekah Strange managed 11 digs for the Rams.

As of Oct. 18, the Lady Rams are 11-9 with eight conference games remaining in the season. Head coach Jody Rodger’s team is 4-2 in the A-10, placing fifth overall.

On Oct. 14, the Rams recorded their 10th win of the season in a hard-fought match with Hampton University on Oct. 14. Sykes celebrated her 21st birthday, as her team overcame a 2-1 defecit, to win 3-2.

VCU hosted another home game matchup at the Siegel Center on Sunday, Oct. 19 against George Washington University, recording another 3-0 shutout victory for their 12th win of the season. The Lady Rams have now won three straight games. Seven games remain in the regular season.

Up next for the Rams is a road game against Rhode Island University on Oct. 24, followed by a matchup with Fordham University on Oct. 26.