Volleyball Starts Road Trek with Davidson, VCU

Friday, October 12

Davidson, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

George Washington University

Davidson

10/11/2018 2:41:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Colonials begin four-game trip with southern swing

WASHINGTON - GW volleyball hits the road for a pair of critical conference clashes this weekend, battling Davidson on Friday at 7 p.m. and league-leading VCU on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.

LAST TIME OUT: The Colonials were swept on Tuesday by West Virginia in the final non-conference match of the season. GW, which was without a pair of starters in Skylar Iott and Jaimeson Lee, was unable to overcome the Mountaineers' strong attacking display. Sophomore Marianna Warren had 10 kills, while first-year setter Heather Merryman distributed 24 assists.

ACROSS THE NET: This is the first of two weekends for GW against VCU and Davidson as the Colonials will welcome the Rams and Wildcats to the Smith Center on Nov. 2 and 4, respectively.

Davidson has dropped four straight conference matches, including a sweep at the hands of VCU on Saturday. The Wildcats did bounce back to even their overall record with a straight-set win at NC Central on Tuesday. Ellie Crosley currently leads the A-10 with a .424 hitting percentage and is the top target offensively for the Wildcats.

VCU brings an unblemished mark into the weekend and has dropped just three sets in conference play. Vicky Giommarini is the reigning A-10 Co-Player of the Week after recording 14 kills and a .500 attack percentage last week against Davidson. The Rams have won 21 straight matches against A-10 competition.

YOUNG GUNS: Heather Merryman became the second Colonial this year to earn A-10 Rookie of the Week honors on Monday, garnering the award after averaging 10.14 assists/set against Rhode Island and Fordham. Her 9.5 assists/set since moving into the starting lineup would be second-best in the league if she had enough sets to qualify. First-year libero Bella Bowman was named Rookie of the Week earlier this year on Sept. 17.

FIVE-SET PHENOMS: Four of GW's eight victories this season have been five-set wins, including a triumph over Morgan State on Sept. 14 in which the Colonials staved off three match points in the third set and came back to win. Dating back to last year, the Colonials have triumphed in eight straight five-set matches and are now 9-2 in those situations under second-year head coach Sarah Bernson.

ROAD WARRIORS: After playing eight of the last nine matches at home, this is the first of consecutive weekends for the Colonials on the road as they will head to La Salle and Duquesne next weekend. The Colonials have just three home matches left (George Mason, VCU, Davidson) compared to six more matches away from D.C.

AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS: Here's where the Colonials stand among A-10 foes entering the weekend:

Bella Bowman: 5th total digs (277), 7th digs/set (4.26)
Skylar Iott: 3rd points/set (4.2), 4th kills/set (3.73), 5th total kills (231), 5th total points (262.0), 9th service aces/set (0.29)
Jaimeson Lee: 3rd assists/set (9.25), 6th total assists (509), 10th digs/set (3.31)
Alexis Lete: 7th attack percentage (.289)
Jordan Young: 5th service aces (20), 5th service aces/set (0.33)

COMING UP: GW continues its travels with a trip to Pennsylvania next weekend. The Colonials will face La Salle on Friday, Oct. 19 and Duquesne on Sunday, Oct. 21.