George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
Penn
Volleyball Blanks Penn, 3-0, at Towson Invitational
9/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 19, 2009
TOWSON, MD -- The GW Volleyball team swept its second straight match in the Towson Invitational by handing Penn just its second loss of the season, 3-0, Saturday in the second of three matches at the Towson Center. The Colonials held the Quakers to a .100 hitting percentage and won by the scores, 25-14, 25-18, 25-23 in just over an hour. A pair of freshmen led the way for GW as OH Lauren Whyte (match-high 15 kills) and libero Candace Silva-Martin (match-high 21 digs) gave Colonials' fans plenty of reason to feel good about the future of GW Volleyball.
The Colonials' defense rose to the occasion Saturday blocking 10 Quaker attacks while recording 54 digs, 21 by Silva-Martin, the reigning A-10 Rookie/co-Defensive Player of the Week. Whyte hit .323 with just five attack errors in 31 swings and a block assist. Senior co-captain Abby Syverson found her rythmn by hitting .478 with 13 kills, two errors, in 23 attacks. Setter Alyssa Valentine assisted on 38 of GW's 44 kills (86 percent) and added nine digs and a kill.
Penn (8-2) was led by Lauren Martin's team-high 11 kills and Madi Wojciechowski's 16 digs. The Quakers managed just one ace on the afternoon and committed 22 attack errors in 120 attempts.
The GW-Penn match was the fifth in the six-match Towson Invitational, a round-robin tournament that features and Towson and Ball State in addition to the Colonials and Quakers.
GW (7-4) doesn't have much time to enjoy the victory as it plays the host Tigers (7-6) in Saturday's 3 p.m. match. Towson has dropped both matches in the tournament including getting swept by Ball State, 3-0, Saturday morning. Free live statistical updates are available by going to www.GWsports.com and clicking on the GameTracker link.
