Women’s volleyball lost its three-game winning streak after failing to keep a steady offense and committing multiple attack errors against Loyola Chicago this weekend.
The Colonials (6-9) faced off against the Ramblers (8-7) in a double match Friday and Saturday at the Smith Center, where GW held a lead during each of its first sets but failed to hold the momentum for the remainder of the two matches. Graduate libero Bella Bowman tied for the second-place all-time dig leader in program history, now standing at 1,682 through her career.
Here’s a recap of the games this weekend:
Match One
The Colonials dropped their A-10 opener with a 3–1 loss in the first match against Loyola Chicago Friday, losing the first set 25-23, the third set 28-26 and the fourth set 25-17. They eked out a 25-21 victory in the second set.
In the first set, the Ramblers performed 15 kills against the Colonials’ 10 kills on the way to their early victory. Ties at the 22nd and 23rd points gave GW hope, but a kill helped the Ramblers close it out 25-23.
The Ramblers got off to an early 5–1 lead in the second set, but GW managed to pull with their 10th point during the first half, a lead they held until their 25th point clinched their set victory. The Colonials collected nine kills and a .208 shooting percentage in the set.
Both teams were on top of their offensive game in the third set, but GW’s 15 kills and .308 shooting percentage were not enough to match the Ramblers’ offensive onslaught. The Colonials dropped the third set 28–26.
The Ramblers carried their momentum into the final set to secure their first A-10 victory with a 25–17 win. The Colonials played their worst set of the day, tallying only eight kills and recording a .031 shooting percentage.
On offense, sophomore opposite MC Daubendiek led the Colonials with 10 kills throughout the match, and junior outside hitter Elizabeth Drelling and sophomore outside hitter Brittany Myers tallied eight apiece. Sophomore setter Grace Allread and freshman setter Dilara Elmacioglu contributed 18 and 16 assists, respectively.
On defense, graduate middle blocker Tierra Porter led the team with eight blocks, pushing her to a team-leading total of 83 blocks of the season.
Match Two
GW dropped its second match Saturday, losing the set split by a 3–2 margin.
The Colonials shot at a .205 clip where they held 51 kills, 56 digs and five spikes over the afternoon. The Ramblers averaged a .261 shooting percentage with 76 kills, 83 digs and five spikes.
In the first set, the Ramblers kicked off with a 6–4 start and continued to maintain a lead that the Colonials fought to overcome with consecutive three-point runs, though to no avail, ending the first set 25–19.
The second set started with an early lead for Loyola Chicago 3–0 as the Colonials struggled to get on the scoreboard early in the action. A set of consecutive kills by Womble and Daubendiek turned the match around for the Colonials, entering a nine-point run in the final minutes of the set, which they went on to win 25–23.
The Colonials continued their success in the third set where the GW team maintained a two-point lead throughout the first minutes. The Ramblers fell into a marathon of attack errors that allowed GW to further the lead by five points during the half.
The Ramblers came out on top with a 25–22 lead, as they gained momentum through the set while entering several five-point runs.
Loyola Chicago led a fierce offensive battle over the Colonials in the fourth set and kept a six-point difference between the teams. The Colonials could only put together 13 points while the Ramblers offense took off.
The fifth ended with a 15–13 win for the Ramblers, who hit 10 kills while GW made a series of attack errors.
The Colonials fell short of repeating their winning performance from the past three matches with a softer defense that failed to keep up with Loyola Chicago. GW will return on Friday where they will face off Duquesne at 6 p.m. at Pittsburgh.
