This post was written by Hatchet senior staff writer Alex Kist.
To open the closing weekend of the regular season, GW ran the show.
The Colonials only needed three sets to take down Duquesne Friday afternoon at home. GW (19-10, 8-5 A-10) was in control through a smooth first set, and withstood pressure from the Dukes in the second and third to come away with their second sweep of Duquesne (13-14, 7-6 A-10) this season. Set scores were 25-13, 25-23, 25-21.
GW was unstoppable to open the first set, jumping out with a 6-0 run and opening up a 12-4 lead.
The Dukes used timeouts to regroup, but their efforts were overpowered by GW’s balanced attack. The Dukes were unable to penetrate the Colonials’ blocking duo of outside hitters Aaliya Davidson and Kelsey Clark, and middle blockers Chidima Osuchukwu and Maggie Skjelbred hit strikes down the middle. The Colonials lead hovered around double-digits all the way until the close of the set after a kill from Clark and a Duquesne ball handling error.
Head coach Amanda Ault said that she’s found her “best lineup” over the past two weeks. Moving Skjelbred to the right side has provided balance, affording senior setter Jordan Timmer more viable options on the court. Clark said the team was successful because of the flow they had on the floor, noting that their chemistry and “laser focus” were key components to coming away with the ‘W’.
“Going into this game, we took a deep breath,” Clark said. “We took it one step at a time, one point at a time and took it to them. We didn’t take them for granted and we just had tons of energy and stayed together throughout the whole match.”
The Dukes capitalized on on a service error and knocked down a kill to take the first two points of the second set. From that point on, it was clear they wouldn’t go away as easily as they had in the first. GW charged back with a strong attack to tie the game up at 3, but the Dukes’ went on a 3-0 rally to take back the lead.
The teams traded points for the remainder of the set, which saw eight tie scores and three lead changes. For the Colonials, Clark was integral by countering the Dukes’ attack with her own strikes down the middle and assisting with blocks by getting up on the net.
“She is such a gamer, and brings that energy and fire to the team,” Ault said. “She’s up all the time and she is one of the easiest attackers to set from a middle’s perspective because she is in the air. I think she is also getting more comfortable in the back row after she serves, taking those balls.”
Duquesne finally managed to get some breathing room after a service error from senior libero Maddy Doyle and a decisive center kill gave them a three point advantage at 17-14. Ault called a timeout, but GW was snuffed at the net by the Dukes’ front line on the other side of it.
Duquesne was succeeding by forcing errors, so GW took another timeout. This time, it worked. The Colonials made up a five-point deficit quickly to knot the set at 23 before Osuchukwu smacked a winner down the center and Davidson followed suit to finish it out.
The final set also went back and forth.
With a 20-20 draw, Ault took a minute with her players to regroup. Timmer emerged as a leader in the front after a pep talk. By setting the right balls, GW amassed three more kills and forced an attack error to take the match.
“At the end of set three when it was tied 20-20, I think they came back out and set the tone,” Ault said. “ We are taking steps and we are learning from the past and we need to play to win, instead of playing to not lose.”
Throughout the match, Ault said that seniors Timmer and Doyle were “calming factors,” helping the team stayed focused and consistent in tense situations when the Dukes presented offensive pressure. In the penultimate games of their regular season careers, Doyle finished with 11 digs and Timmer notched 38 assists.
GW returns to action on Saturday to host La Salle in the final regular season game at 7 p.m.
