George Washington University Athletics
Friday, September 6
Coral Gables, FL
7:30 p.m.
George Washington University
at
Miami
Volleyball Heads to Hurricane Invitational
9/5/2019 3:45:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Colonials to battle Miami, FGCU and Auburn this weekend
WASHINGTON - GW volleyball is set for its first road trip of the 2019 campaign with a three-game swing at the Hurricane Invitational hosted by Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. The Buff & Blue will encounter the host Hurricanes on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. before battling FGCU on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and Auburn on Sunday at 11 a.m.
LAST TIME OUT: The Colonials opened the season 2-1 with a pair of sweeps over Hartford and Howard last weekend at the DC Challenge. Reigning Colonial of the Week Jaimeson Lee led the way with an all-around effort from her setter position, tallying 81 assists, 27 digs, 12 kills, 10 blocks, a .400 attack percentage and five service aces.
Senior Skylar Iott opened her campaign with consecutive double-doubles against American and Hartford before coming up just a kill shy against Howard. GW's 2-1 mark gave the program its first winning opening weekend since 2014 when the Colonials started the year 4-0.
ACROSS THE NET: Miami played just one match to open its season, falling to Missouri, 3-1, last weekend. The Hurricanes were projected to finish 10th in the ACC and feature preseason All-ACC selection Elizaveta Lukianova at outside hitter. Lukianova had seven kills and hit .385 in the Canes' opener, while Kennedy Price racked up 15 kills to lead Miami. The two schools have never met in volleyball.
FGCU and GW meet for the first time since 2012 when the Eagles came away with a 3-0 win in a neutral-site match at Wyoming. FGCU went 3-0 in its opening weekend, besting Akron, Bryant and San Diego State to match its best start since moving to Division I in 2007. Libero Dana Axner was the tournament MVP last weekend, registering 69 digs in three games, a mark that leads the Atlantic Sun.
Auburn enters the weekend 1-2 after its tournament last weekend, defeating Butler for its lone win. The Tigers were led by libero Payton White, who picked up 67 digs and earned All-Tournament honors. Middle blocker Chesney McClellan also earned All-Tournament accolades, averaging over 3.0 kills per set while hitting .338. The Tigers have won three of the four all-time meetings with the last coming in 2014.
BLOCK PARTY: Graduate students Caroline Sklaver and Paty Valle made an immediate impact for the Buff & Blue last weekend, teaming up for 37 of the Colonials' 61 total blocks in the three matches. The duo ranks first and second in the Atlantic 10 in rejections with Sklaver's 20 just outpacing Valle's 17.
GW recorded at least 9.0 total team blocks in all three matches, peaking with 12.5 in the sweep of Howard on Saturday. Last season, the Colonials had just eight matches with at least 9.0 kills and only topped 12.0 kills once.
IN THE SWING OF THINGS: The Colonials utilized their net play to earn more advantageous scoring opportunities, hitting .211 for the weekend and recording 38 kills in each match. The team's progress was once again noticeable despite the small sample size. GW's .268 mark against Hartford and .271 percentage vs. Howard would've been two of the top four days in 2018.
The Buff & Blue committed just 12 attack errors against Howard and Hartford, equaling last year's season low. The efficiency has placed the Colonials second in the A-10 in attack percentage through one weekend.
LAST TIME OUT: The Colonials opened the season 2-1 with a pair of sweeps over Hartford and Howard last weekend at the DC Challenge. Reigning Colonial of the Week Jaimeson Lee led the way with an all-around effort from her setter position, tallying 81 assists, 27 digs, 12 kills, 10 blocks, a .400 attack percentage and five service aces.
Senior Skylar Iott opened her campaign with consecutive double-doubles against American and Hartford before coming up just a kill shy against Howard. GW's 2-1 mark gave the program its first winning opening weekend since 2014 when the Colonials started the year 4-0.
ACROSS THE NET: Miami played just one match to open its season, falling to Missouri, 3-1, last weekend. The Hurricanes were projected to finish 10th in the ACC and feature preseason All-ACC selection Elizaveta Lukianova at outside hitter. Lukianova had seven kills and hit .385 in the Canes' opener, while Kennedy Price racked up 15 kills to lead Miami. The two schools have never met in volleyball.
FGCU and GW meet for the first time since 2012 when the Eagles came away with a 3-0 win in a neutral-site match at Wyoming. FGCU went 3-0 in its opening weekend, besting Akron, Bryant and San Diego State to match its best start since moving to Division I in 2007. Libero Dana Axner was the tournament MVP last weekend, registering 69 digs in three games, a mark that leads the Atlantic Sun.
Auburn enters the weekend 1-2 after its tournament last weekend, defeating Butler for its lone win. The Tigers were led by libero Payton White, who picked up 67 digs and earned All-Tournament honors. Middle blocker Chesney McClellan also earned All-Tournament accolades, averaging over 3.0 kills per set while hitting .338. The Tigers have won three of the four all-time meetings with the last coming in 2014.
BLOCK PARTY: Graduate students Caroline Sklaver and Paty Valle made an immediate impact for the Buff & Blue last weekend, teaming up for 37 of the Colonials' 61 total blocks in the three matches. The duo ranks first and second in the Atlantic 10 in rejections with Sklaver's 20 just outpacing Valle's 17.
GW recorded at least 9.0 total team blocks in all three matches, peaking with 12.5 in the sweep of Howard on Saturday. Last season, the Colonials had just eight matches with at least 9.0 kills and only topped 12.0 kills once.
IN THE SWING OF THINGS: The Colonials utilized their net play to earn more advantageous scoring opportunities, hitting .211 for the weekend and recording 38 kills in each match. The team's progress was once again noticeable despite the small sample size. GW's .268 mark against Hartford and .271 percentage vs. Howard would've been two of the top four days in 2018.
The Buff & Blue committed just 12 attack errors against Howard and Hartford, equaling last year's season low. The efficiency has placed the Colonials second in the A-10 in attack percentage through one weekend.
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OPP
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