Coming off a straight-sets sweep of Arkansas State in its season opener Friday morning, women’s volleyball carried the momentum into an evening match, handling Auburn in straight sets (25-13, 25-18, 25-20) at the GW Invitational.
Head coach Amanda Ault said she used notes from the team’s Friday morning performance to focus the squad’s afternoon practice, drilling specific skills she felt needed improvement before heading into the day’s second game.
“I think this morning was good to see where we are and see what we need to work on,” Ault said. “It showed us a couple things. Our serving fell off this morning, so we knew we had to clean that up a bit and we did because that played big for us tonight, with Auburn and getting them out of system.”
Auburn, which went 19-11 last season out of the Southeastern Conference, came into the Smith Center with a roster that included six freshmen. But that wouldn’t mean the adjustments Ault expected from her team could take a back seat as the Tigers, like the Colonials, also won their morning match.
GW (2-0) beat Auburn (1-1) on the defensive end by out-blocking the Tigers 12-2 and winning the digs battle 47-44. The Colonials were all over the net, led by sophomore Chidima Osuchukwu and junior Maggie Skjelbred. Both Osuchukwu and Skjelbred totaled two solo blocks each while adding two and five block assists, respectively. Junior Landon Garvik also added four block assists for GW. By the end of the game, Auburn hit a lackluster .082 for the match.
“We came into this game with one mission, and that was to take care of Auburn,” said junior libero Maddy Doyle, who led all players with 21 digs. “We weren’t thinking of the next game, the game before or anything like that. We were focused on beating Auburn and playing together as a team.”
The strong Colonials presence on the defensive end caused many mistakes for the Tigers. Auburn totaled twice as many attack errors on the pin than GW, finishing the game with 24.
On the Colonials side of the ball, GW was able to find holes in the Tigers defense throughout the game. Osuchukwu, as well as sophomore Loren Williams and senior Kelsey Newman, each totaled nine kills. As a team, the Colonials hit .265 on the night.
GW hitters found success at the net thanks to the consistent sets of junior setter Jordan Timmer. Timmer, who started both games for the Colonials, totaled a game-high 30 assists on the night.
After taking the first two sets convincingly, Auburn would put up a stronger fight in the game’s third set. The Tigers would lead by as much as three points, but the Colonials, with a strong Smith Center crowd, were able to clamp down defensively and finish the game on a 15-7 run.
“Their goals that they have for the season are high, and I think this weekend, so far, has proven that they mean business,” Ault said.
Doyle described the game as “passionate,” and said the victory would have been impossible without a cohesive team.
“The communication and excitement was great, even from the bench,” Doyle said. “I’m yelling as loud as I can on the court, but then I turn around and I see my teammates on the ground. That is such a great feeling, knowing that we’re being supported. Everyone was moving after every play, everyone was going, all cylinders were going and it was really great to be a part of it all.”
The Colonials host North Dakota at 3 p.m. Saturday in their final game of the GW Invitational.
–Sean Hurd contributed to this report
