George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
VCU
GW Volleyball Clinches Third Degree Sports Invitational Championship
9/10/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 10, 2011
GW vs. Cornell Box Score | GW vs. VCU Box Score
RICHMOND, Va.- The George Washington volleyball team rolled through a field of North Carolina A&T, Cornell and VCU to clinch the VCU/Third Degree Sportswear Invitational championship this weekend at Siegel Center.
Juniors Katie Crosby and Candace Silva-Martin were named to the All-Tournament team as the Colonials swept their way to a ninth consecutive victory to open the season. Crosby finished the weekend with 125 assists (12.5/set), 12 digs and five block assists, and Silva-Martin totaled 43 digs (5.38/set) with five service aces.
The Colonials can clinch their best start to a season since 2003 with a win over Georgetown on Tuesday night at Smith Center.
GW (9-0) secured the title with a 3-1 victory over host VCU, 26-24, 28-26, 20-25, 25-11. Four players totaled double-digit kills as the Colonials rebounded from a loss in set three to convincingly take control in a 25-11 victory in the fourth set. The Colonials had not dropped a set since the first frame against George Mason on Aug. 27.
Sophomore Taylor Knox led the way with a career-high 16 kills, swinging .355 for 16.5 points. Joining Knox with double-digit kills was junior Lauren Whyte (13), freshman Kelsey Newman (12) and senior MacKenzie Knox (10).
The Colonials had to withstand multiple stands by the Rams throughout the match. VCU was able to fight off match point seven times in the first set and battled back from a 24-18 deficit to tie the score. A kill by Taylor Knox gave GW the lead and the defense forced an attack error to clinch the first set 26-24.
In the second set, GW once again had to hold off a VCU rally, outlasting the Rams 28-26 after 14 ties and seven lead changes. Taylor Knox once again assumed control in the final moments, delivering the game-winning kill off an assist from Crosby.
VCU hit .265 in the third set while holding GW to a .162 attack percentage to win the frame. It marked the first set loss for GW since Aug. 27.
GW responded to the loss in fashion in the final set swinging .500 (13k-26a-0e) en route to a convincing 25-11 victory to clinch the match. The Colonials raced out to a 7-0 lead and eventually closed out the Rams by a margin of 14 points.
In its first match of the afternoon the Colonials used a balanced attack to sweep Cornell 25-16, 25-16, 25-23,.
The Colonials swung a blistering .515 in the first set, recording 19 kills against just two errors in 33 attempts, while converting on 76 percent (13-for-17) of its sideout point opportunities.
Whyte paced the Colonials attack with a match-high 15 kills to go along with five digs, two block assists and one ace for a 16 points. MacKenzie Knox contributed 12 kills against just three errors in 20 attempts for 12.5 points and a .450 attack percentage. She also added a block assist.
Crosby facilitated the Colonial attack with 42 assists to go along with 13 digs and one service ace while sophomores Jamie Armstrong and Taylor Knox contributed seven and eight kills, respectively.
Defensively, Armstrong led the way with three block (one solo, two assists) while Silva-Martin and Hillary DeCarl recorded 14 and 12 digs, respectively.
The Colonials return to action on Tuesday night at the Charles E. Smith Center attempting to clinch the DC Challenge championship against Georgetown at 7:00 p.m. The match was originally scheduled for Aug. 27 but was postponed due to adverse weather conditions associated with Hurricane Irene.
VCU/Third Degree Sportswear Invitational Results
Friday Sept. 9
GW 3, North Carolina A&T 0
VCU , Cornell
Saturday Sept 10
VCU 3, North Carolina A&T 0
GW 3, Cornell 0
Cornell 3, North Carolina A&T 0
GW 3, VCU 1
VCU/Third Degree Sportswear Final Standings
GW 3-0
VCU 2-1
Cornell 1-2
NC A&T 0-4
All-Tournament Team
GW: Candace Silva-Martin, Katie Crosby
VCU: Courtney Hott, Cecilia Aragao
Cornell: Megan Tatum
NC A&T: Jeana Daniels
