Women’s Volleyball goes cold in Hampton Invitational

Over the weekend the VCU Women’s volleyball team traveled to Bowling Green, Ohio to compete in the Hampton Inn Invitational. The Black and Gold fell short with three losses over the weekend.

Bowling Green State University

The inaugural game of the tournament was a coming out party for junior outside hitter Alica Kandler who blasted a match high of 15 kills in her VCU debut.  Kandler, who was raised in Olfen, Germany, played at Daytona State College for two years before transferring to VCU. Prior to coming to the states, Kandler played for the German Youth National Team for three years and placed first at the European Championship Qualification with the National Team in 2013.

Despite Kandler and her teammates’ efforts, VCU lost against BGSU 3-0. Freshman outside hitter CeCe Madison added nine kills and seven digs for the Rams while freshman setter Tyler Sroufe provided 25 assists to her teammates in hopes of a win.

Bowling Green hit .296 percent, while

VCU converted .144 percent of their hits. However, the Rams scrapped together some points and trailed 21-19 late in the frame. The set closed with a 4-0 burst by the Falcons’ Jessi Holly . 

Louisville University

The Louisville Cardinals kept VCU from running in the middle all match, forcing them out to the pins.

Down 21-14 in the first set, the Cardinals relied on the aggressive serving of Melanie McHenry to put them on top of the Rams. The set ended in a win for the Cardinals thanks to a pivotal VCU serving error.

In the third set, both sides played sloppy as unforced errors pervaded the match. The Rams were unable to pocket the win, falling short by two points as the game closed 25-23, resulting in a win for The University of Louisville.

Oakland University

The Oakland volleyball team defeated VCU in straight sets on the final day of the tournament. This marked the third loss for the Rams on the young season. Again, junior outside hitter Alicia Kandler bolstered VCU’s offence, setting herself up with 13 kills in the game. She was again backed up by Sroufe who racked up 26 assists and added three kills and three blocks for the Rams.

The Black and Golds’ efforts again fell short as The Golden Grizzlies limited runs by VCU and took 75 percent of their side out opportunities. The Rams lost this match in straight sets.

“The girls played hard today, but we just didn’t execute in critical spots,” head coach Jody Rogers said after the game. “We had some solid individual performances, but we’re still learning how to capitalize on opportunities when they’re presented.”

Next up, the Rams will head to Fort Myers, Florida for the Florida Gulf Coast University Hilton Garden Inn Invitational Sept. 2-3.

Keyris Manzanares, Contributing Writer