Volleyball (18-9, 8-6) swept Saint Louis (9-17, 4-10) this weekend, winning 3-2 Friday and 3-1 Saturday at the Smith Center.
The first match was a back-and-forth affair, with the Revs losing the fourth set by just 2 points before notching the fifth for the win. In Friday night’s five-set thriller, senior outside hitter Salem Yohannes led the team with 16 kills and freshman opposite Taylor Treahy also contributed with 13 kills and 9 digs that night.
The team entered the weekend coming off of a decisive 3-0 victory over Atlantic 10 rival George Mason. Prior to Wednesday night’s victory, the team had lost five games in a row. They have since rebounded, and this weekend’s series win marks the start of a three-game win streak.
The Revolutionaries failed to lead the entire first set of Friday’s match, as Saint Louis captured it 25-17. The Billikens got off to a quick start jumping out to a 6-1 lead before the Revolutionaries bounced back to tie it up at 11 all. However, they couldn’t fend off Saint Louis’ freshman outside hitter Addy Brus who had seven kills in the set.
The Revs’ first lead of the match came at 5-4 in the second set. They extended this lead to 15-9, forcing a Billikens timeout. However, later in the set, Saint Louis scored 6 unanswered points to jump ahead 22-21. The Revolutionaries extended the set, fending off a set point and ultimately clinching 29-27.
With the match tied at one set apiece, the Revolutionaries dominated the third set, winning 25-17. The set began to slip away from the Billikens midway through, as the Revs seized a commanding 14-8 lead which remained led by graduate libero Reilly Heinrich, who leads the team in overall digs accumulating 340 of 1,333, over a quarter of the team’s digs.
The fourth set was closely contested right up to the end, but Saint Louis managed to eke it out, 25-23.
The Revolutionaries started the definitive fifth set strong with consecutive points from junior libero Penelope Hiepler and a strong performance from Salem Yohannes who currently leads the team in overall points accumulating 342.5 out of the team’s 1,630 points across the season. Ultimately, sophomore outside hitter Haylee Brown delivered the final blow, sealing the set 15-8 and the match 3-2.
Saturday’s contest also resulted in a GW win, but it wasn’t nearly as close as Friday’s match. The Revolutionaries came out with a burst, winning the first set 25-14. Though they cooled off in the second, falling 21-25, they bounced back to claim the final two sets 27-25 and 25-22, securing the weekend sweep.
The third set remained close until Saint Louis pulled ahead with an 18-14 lead. The Revolutionaries fought off two set points to lock up the set, shifting the momentum in their favor and setting them up to secure a match-winning victory in the final set. GW recorded two service aces during the set, including one by junior middle blocker Cienna Tejada which tied the set at 24 apiece, saving a Saint Louis set win.
The team is now fifth in the conference, with only a few weeks to go before the A-10 Championships in Dayton, Ohio, which will feature the top six teams in the division. The Revolutionaries stand fourth in the conference in points per set at 16.8 while Saint Louis is seventh with 16.17. With four games left in the regular season, the Revs set their sights on four more victories and a chance to clinch the fourth seed as they head into playoffs.
Next up, the Revolutionaries will take on Rhode Island in consecutive matches this coming Friday and Saturday in Kingston, Rhode Island.
