Rams declaw the Wildcats, 3-0

Malachi Keys, Contributing Writer

The VCU women’s volleyball team swept Davidson College, 3-0, on Oct. 29, winning their eighth consecutive game.

After a slow 4-8 start to the season, the Rams came into this Davidson matchup with an 11-8 record after winning the previous seven games in a row. In fact, VCU’s winning streak began with a win over the Wildcats on the road in early October. 

In the first set, Davidson got off to a quick start, leading 8-4. However, many of the Wildcats’ points early in the first set resulted from self-inflicted VCU errors. 

Slow starts for his squad are normal, according to VCU head coach Tim Doyle. 

“It is pretty classic for how we play,” Doyle said. “There’s a lot of kind of dipping our toe in the water in the first part of matches to figure out how the other team is going to perform. Once we figure out their weaker points, we do a good job of locking in and trapping down on them.”

VCU quickly recovered from their four–point deficit and knotted the set at 11-a-piece. VCU maintained a consistent two to three–point advantage over Davidson for the remainder of the set, ending it 25-22. 

In the second set, the Rams got off to a blazing start going 6-0 to begin the period. It was clear that fourth-year setter Taylor Aguano was in a rhythm with her hitters and was beginning to dominate the game. Aguano had a game-high 24 assists with nine coming in the second set. 

Davidson struggled to stop VCU’s first-year right side and outside hitter Lara Del Core. Del Core had a game-high in kills with 15, seven of them coming in the second set as well. 

While the connection between Aguano and Del Core was clicking, Del Core doesn’t believe the setter-hitter connection is the most crucial aspect, she said 

“We need to be all connected,” Del Core said. “The setter needs to be connected to passing and the passing is connected to the hitter because maybe the pass is not so perfect so they have to set.” 

After having a decent lead in the second set, the Wildcats came back and overtook the Rams, going up 19-17. 

VCU lost points again due to unforced errors and poor defense. However, the black and gold came back and won the second set 25-23. 

In the third set, VCU fired on all cylinders both offensively and especially defensively as they held a considerable lead for the entirety of the period. 

Second-year libero Anja Kujundzic had a game-high 18 digs and added three assists. VCU won the third set by a score of 25-12. 

This is the second season of VCU volleyball under the tutelage of Tim Doyle. Although only about half the roster has returned from last season, Kujundzic said she believes in what Doyle and his program are building.

“I think the coaching staff is doing a really good job with preparing us for every single situation,” Kujundzic said. “We have a lot of new people and a lot of international kids that have come this year. I feel that everyone has brought a kind of different energy.”

VCU will travel to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to play against Duquesne University at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Friday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m.