Women’s volleyball heads into A-10 tournament with winning record
The VCU women's volleyball team pregame. Photo by Tyler Tate.
Saanvi Vootla, Contributing Writer
VCU women’s volleyball finished off the Atlantic 10 season steady with a 12-6 record, placing it third in the conference rankings ahead of the A-10 Tournament on Nov. 21.
The Rams started the season strong with a 3-1 win against Duquesne University.
Fourth-year opposite hitter Julia Rienks has been a dependable force for the team since the beginning. She scored a high of 18 kills, leading the way for the Rams.
Rienks’ consistent production gave VCU a reliable go-to in the attack, and second-year outside hitter Lara Del Core added another 15 kills and four blocks.
Keeping the same winning spirit, the Rams went on to win five consecutive games between Sept. 30 and Oct. 12 against Davidson University, Saint Louis University and the University of Rhode Island.
Rienks blasted a career-best of 29 kills, three blocks and seven digs against the Davidson Wildcats. Graduate student libero Haruka Sugimoto dug 16 balls and reached a collegiate dig count of 2,000.
Fourth-year outside hitter Alicja Jaryszek scored a career-high of 25 kills for the Rams against the Saint Louis Billikens on Oct 3. Second-year middle blocker Letizia Galli aided with 10 kills and six blocks. Rienks contributed another 12 kills, ultimately leading to VCU’s victory.
Third-year middle blocker Nina Boledovicova kept the winning streak going in the game against Rhode Island with 11 kills and two aces on Oct. 11.
That winning stretch showcased their ability to win tight matches on the court by putting up a collective defense and attack from all players.
The rest of the season brought challenges for the Rams as some losses started to tally up.
VCU lost the first match of a two-game set 1-3 on Oct. 17 against George Mason University. However, the Rams were able to fight back and flipped the score in their favor the next day with a win of 3-1 against the Patriots.
VCU then faced a few consecutive losses against George Washington University and the University of Dayton, but picked right back up in the game against Fordham University on Nov. 15 and 16 with two powerful 3-1 wins.
The Rams showed in the game on Saturday that they are not a team to mess with in the tournament. Rienks maintained her attacking strategy and brought in 21 kills, while outside hitter Kalina Pylinska had 11 kills and seven aces, pushing Fordham out of sight.
Overall, the Rams have had a steady gain in the A-10 season, winning 12 games out of 18 matches. VCU will enter the first round of the tournament ready to continue its fight against GMU, a team it split the season series with.
