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Volleyball’s 3-1 Victory Over Old Dominion Highlights Day One of the DC Showdown
9/8/2023 9:43:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
WASHINGTON – GW volleyball earned its first victory of the season on Friday in a 3-1 win over Old Dominion as part of a 1-1 split on Day One of the DC Showdown. GW went the distance with North Alabama earlier in the day, dropping the home opening match to the Lions 3-2.
GAME 1: North Alabama 3, GW 2 (25-19, 25-16, 20-25, 18-25, 11-15)
BY THE NUMBERS
MC Daubendiek and Brittany Myers led the GW offense with 12 kills apiece and Grace Wiczek added 11. Dilara Elmacioglu tied her then-career-high with 27 assists, feeding a GW offense that had its most efficient match of the season, putting down 53 kills with a .232 hitting percentage. Defensively, Penelope Hiepler scooped up 15 digs to lead GW's backline.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Playing on home court for the first time this season, GW quickly moved to a 9-1 lead over the Lions and stretched the advantage to 19-8 with momentum in favor of the Buff & Blue. North Alabama then outscored GW 8-1, but GW took set one with a pair of GW kills and three-straight errors from the visitors.
GW continued its offensive prowess, tallying 14 kills to North Alabama's eight to take set two, the team's largest set victory of the season, 25-16.
Despite having a chance for the sweep, momentum shifted in the next two sets. In set three, GW was up 14-9 before giving up eight-straight points. North Alabama went on a five-point scoring run to close the set. The Lions out-hit GW 14-11 in set four, forcing a 15-point deciding set.
Nine North Alabama kills and a .471 hitting percentage for the visitors in set five made the difference, with the Lions earning the 3-2 victory.
GAME 2: GW 3, Old Dominion 1 (25-22, 20-25, 25-22, 25-23)
BY THE NUMBERS
As a team, GW put together a .230 hitting percentage behind a season-best 60 kills led by Wiczek's career-best 17 kills. Myers and Daubendiek continued to be strong offensive threats for the Buff & Blue, putting down 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Elmacioglu recorded a career-best 30 assists and Loughran added 23.
Defensively, Hiepler tallied 14 digs and Myers and Sydney Stewart came up with six blocks apiece.
HOW IT HAPPENED
GW fell behind 4-2 early in set one but quickly shifted the momentum, taking control of the set at 7-6. After continuous back-and-forth midway through the first frame, GW went on a four-point scoring to take a 20-15 lead. ODU staved off two GW set points, but a Monarch error closed set one.
Despite only tallying one less kill than the Monarchs in set two, ODU's .483 hitting percentage made the difference to level the match at one set apiece.
GW put down 20 kills in set three, doubling Old Dominion's kill output with a .333 hitting percentage. A nine-point scoring run in the opening stages of the set helped GW to a 13-8 lead and the Buff & Blue never surrendered their lead to take a 2-1 set advantage.
11 ties came in the final set, with GW leading 23-18, needing just two points to close the match. Four-straight points from ODU cut the Buff & Blue lead to one, but a kill from Liv Womble and an ODU attack error lifted GW to victory on home court.
UP NEXT
GW hosts Georgetown in the final match of the DC Showdown tomorrow at Smith Center at 3 p.m. on ESPN+. Tickets for tomorrow's match are available here.
