George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
Duquesne
Volleyball Downs Duquesne, 3-1
10/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 11, 2009
PITTSBURGH, PA -- George Washington freshman Lauren Whyte slammed a career-high 17 kills in leading the GW volleyball team past Duquesne, 3-1, Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh. The Colonials won by the scores, 24-26, 25-21, 25-18, 28-26 at DU's A.J. Palumbo Center. It marked GW's 11th victory in its last 14 outings.
Whyte, the A-10 co-Rookie of the Week, was one of three Colonials with double-figure kills as senior Katie Butz contributed 13 kills and four blocks for 15.5 points and junior Leah Hill added 12 kills and 17 digs for 14.5 points. Setter Alyssa Valentine hit an errorless .455 with five kills and 44 assists, six digs an a block assist. Freshman libero Candace Silva-Martin was solid in the back row with a match-high 28 digs and a service ace.
Duquesne (12-8, 2-3 A-10) was led by Sara Scheirman's team-high 16 kills and 17 digs. Teammate Nicole Wright added 12 kills and 15 digs while Katie Goss recorded 17 digs.
Sunday's match featured 15 lead changes and an incredible 38 ties.
After GW took a 2-0 lead to begin the match, Duquesne responded with with a 6-1 run to take control of the set and maintained the lead until the Colonials knotted the score at 24-24 on a Dukes attack error. Duquesne called a timeout and responded with a pair of kills by Wright to win the set, 26-24. The second set featured five lead changes and 16 ties, the last coming at 20-20 before a Valentine kill and three Duquesne errors gave GW the 25-21 win.
The third set was all GW as the Colonials took a 10-3 lead it never relinquished en route to the easy 25-18 triumph. The fourth set was the closest of the match with nine lead changes and 18 ties, the last coming at 26-26 on a kill by Whyte. A pair of attack errors by the Dukes' Jessica Artman ended the match with a 28-26 final.
GW combined to hit .195 (56k-23e-169att.) for the match while holding Duquesne to a .175 (55-25-171) team hitting percentage.
GW (14-6, 4-2 A-10) returns to Smith Center Wednesday to host Morgan State (5-14) in a non-conference match at beginning at 7:00 p.m.
For more news about GW Athletics, visit www.GWsports.com.
