Volleyball maintains nation’s longest win streak
Volleyball continues to boast the nation’s longest active win streak, as they extended it to 18 straight matches over the weekend. The Rams haven’t lost a match since Sept. 1 and they are 27-1 in their last 28 sets.
George Mason
The Rams cruised to an 18th straight victory against George Mason University on Saturday in Fairfax.
The Rams’ offense stood up against the Patriots, as they only trailed once in the entire match.
After winning the first set 25-13, the Rams never looked back, winning in straight sets for the seventh time in conference play. The Rams hit .357 in the match, marking their second-best total on the season.
The Black and Gold were led offensively by senior and sophomore outside hitters Gina Tuzzolo and Alicia Kandler. Tuzzolo led the attack with 12 kills, hitting .455 on the day. Kandler registered 11 kills and hit .333 from the field. The Rams hit better than .300 for the 3rd time in conference play.
The Rams’ blocking carried over from their previous matchup against George Washington. VCU held the patriots to .105 hitting. The Rams had 10 blocks on defense, while the Patriots only recorded five.
VCU was led defensively by junior middle blocker Tori Baldwin. Baldwin racked up six blocks on the day, while sophomore middle blocker Jasmin Sneed added two. Senior libero Rebekah Strange had another great game as she recorded 15 digs, shoring up the back line for VCU. Behind Strange, VCU had a slight advantage on the day in digs, 44-36.
George Washington
VCU rode their defense to a 17th straight victory against George Washington University on Friday, Oct. 13.
The Rams improved to 6-0 in A-10 play on Friday, sweeping all six conference opponents with their stout defense.
Their defense was the story again in this matchup, as George Washington hit a paltry .107. The Rams out blocked the Colonials, 12.5 to 5. Blocking was a major contributor to forcing George Washington to commit 26 hitting errors on the day, as they were never able to create much space in front of the net.
The Rams played mistake free volleyball Friday, allowing them to stay ahead — George Washington committed nine service errors, while the Rams only committed three.
Strange made it tough for the Colonials to execute kills and aces, as she registered 17 digs. George Washington had nowhere to hit all night long, as four players recorded at least four blocks for the Rams.
Junior outside hitter Julia Adler registered five blocks, while sophomore outside hitter Vicky Giommarini and Baldwin tallied four blocks apiece.
VCU was anchored by Sneed once again, producing eight blocks for the Black and Gold. The superior blocking for the Rams disrupted the offensive flow of the Colonials, forcing them to commit a slew of errors, a huge deciding factor in the match.
The Rams were led on offense by Tuzzolo, who recorded 9 kills, hitting .333 in the match. Giommarini added eight kills, while Strange served two aces.
Volleyball looks to keep the good times rolling on the road against Fordham University on Friday, Oct. 20 at noon.
Rodney Robinson
Contributing Writer