This post was written by Hatchet senior staff writer Alex Kist.
After dropping games to conference leaders Dayton and Saint Louis, the Colonials bounced back in the way they needed to, sweeping both La Salle and Duquesne over the weekend.
“I think what worked was our mental approach to the game,” head coach Amanda Ault said after the Duquesne game on Sunday. “From the very first point, we came out and commanded the game. If things didn’t go our way, we didn’t let them affect us. Our intent of taking care of the ball was maybe the best I’ve seen it this year.”
Junior middle blocker Chidima Osuchukwu amassed 16 kills on Sunday, giving her a total of 988 for her career. Osuchukwu is now only 12 kills away from joining twelve former Colonials to reach 1,000 kills.
Both GW (15-7, 5-2 A-10) and Duquesne (10-11, 4-3 A-10) entered the Sunday afternoon contest with a 4-2 conference record. Even with similar starting points, the Colonials came out ontop.
The Colonials bested the Dukes on the road in three sets, utilizing Osuchukwu’s powerful right swing in the middle and exploiting the Dukes passing flaws and attack errors. Set scores were 25-23, 25-19 and 25-16.
The Colonials drew the first blood with an attack by freshman outside hitter Kelsey Clark and a quick dump to the net by Osuchukwu. The Dukes were careless with their passing in the first set, and GW capped off a 5-1 start with a service ace.
Duquesne had limited offensive options working for them and became predictable, going to junior outside hitter Madelynn Burnham and allowing GW to anticipate and set up blocks. The Colonials pushed out to a 14-5 lead after senior middle blocker Maggie Skjelbred and freshman outside hitter Hanna Justesen created a compact wall up front.
Even though GW was blowing them away, the Dukes still showed signs of life and chipped away to a 16-9 deficit after garnering three straight points. They began to settle in, but GW kept a strong counter attack at reached set point at 24-18. Duquesne held them off for as long as possible but became their own undoing, taking five straight points before losing the set off a ball handling error.
Osuchukwu was the trigger for GW’s success to open the set, completing six kills on nine attempts with a .556 attack percentage to lead the Colonials.
The Colonials were consistent on the attack, working with a quick set and spike from the pin hitters which worked well against the Dukes’ defense. Sophomore outside hitter Aaliya Davidson notched 12 kills against just one error and also added five digs.
Ault said the players worked on defining their roles in this week’s practice, and Davidson and Osuchukwu settled into a rhythm that helped pace the team throughout the three sets.
“We were working on opening up, growing our offense, getting more balance and making sure we were playing our roles,” Ault said. “During practice we talked about the importance of understanding what role they play on this team because everyone is important, and I think we did a good job of executing that this weekend.”
The Dukes worked a 3-0 run to open the second set, taking their first lead of the match. They took advantage of GW’s attack errors, but GW fought back. Davidson delivered down emphatically to chip away and bring the deficit to 6-4, and the match continued to go point-for-point until GW stole the momentum after a Duquesne error and ran away on a 12-1 run.
The third set was a similar story as the opening one, where GW shot out to an early lead and never forfeited. The final frame was nearly seamless for GW, as they only committed one attack error and swung to a .469 hitting percentage.
After a double-sweep of both La Salle on Friday and of Duquesne, the Colonials will keep the focus on preparation for next week’s three-game stint, working on consistency and playing up their strengths.
“I think for us it’s keeping our focus on what we can control,” Ault said. “We talked afterwards about what a great weekend we had, but we need to make sure we are getting better tomorrow.”
The Colonials return to action on Wednesday to host American at 7 p.m.
