NEWS

Elena Garcia-Guerrios continued her outstanding play in the games against GW.

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Four Wildcats notched double-digit kills to catapult the Davidson volleyball team past George Washington, 3-1, in their Atlantic 10 opener on Saturday afternoon.

Reigning A-10 Player of the Week, Elena Garcia-Guerrios, recorded a team-best 12 kills, while Emma Slusser and Sola Omonije each hit 11 and Jackie Bardin ended with 10. Omonije swung a match-best .550, with 11 kills on 20 swings and produced five kills during the fourth set to secure Davidson’s first victory of conference play.

Bella Brady anchored the defense with 18 digs and nine assists, while Xuan Nguyen paced the offense with her fourth double-double of the season (20 assists, 15 digs).

As the Wildcats led the match 2-1, they trailed 15-11 midway through the fourth. After calling a timeout, Omonije and Anna Withee manufactured back-to-back kills to pull back within one, 15-14, and this time forced the Revolutionaries into a timeout. With a kill from Garcia-Guerrios that tied the set at 15-all, Davidson rattled off a 10-3 run, including four of Omonije’s final four kills, to lock down the 3-1 win.

Davidson opened up the match with a 25-20 win over the Revolutionaries, swinging a match-high .293 at the net. Despite being tied up at 15-all, freshman Mia Compas pushed the ‘Cats in front with a kill on an overpass from GW, while Garcia-Guerrios came up with four kills down the stretch to take the 1-0 match lead.

The Wildcats continued their momentum into set two, producing six total blocks and holding George Washington to a .150 attacking percentage. Although Davidson trailed 20-17 late, Compas and Garcia-Guerrios rallied the ‘Cats once again and tied things up at 20-all. Thanks to a service ace from Nguyen and another strike from Garcia-Guerrios, Kayla Davis put the frame away with a shot from the middle to win the second, 25-23.

The Revolutionaries punched back in the third, jumping out to a commanding 10-3 lead that later stretched to a 12-point advantage, 20-8. With five total blocks of their own, GW held off a late Davidson comeback and pulled out a 25-17 third set victory, before the ‘Cats closed things out in the fourth.

DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Davidson volleyball team came up with its first 3-0 sweep of Atlantic 10 play on Sunday afternoon, rolling past George Washington for its second-straight conference victory.

The Wildcats jumped out to a fast start after Bella Brady served 14-straight points, with two aces, and Jackie Bardin recorded six kills on the first 12 swings of the match. With a .359 hitting percentage, Davidson led by as many as 15 points, 18-3, before ultimately winning the set 25-11.

Brady served two more aces at the start of set two, while the ‘Cats and Revs were all knotted up through 17. As George Washington later took a 24-23 lead, threatening to settle the match score, Elena Garcia-Guerrios provided a kill on the outside to tie things up once again at 24-all. Jessie Doyal then served GW out of rotation to push Davidson into set-point position, and Anna Withee came up big on the right side with one of six kills on the day to win the second, 26-24.

Davidson’s blocking unit showed up with four total blocks in the third, including a monster stop from Kayla Davis and Bardin that put the Wildcats ahead by five, 14-9. With three-straight points from Davis and Withee, the ‘Cats later stretched their lead to seven, 19-12, and eventually sealed the deal, 25-15, after swinging .429 as a team.

Davis and Sola Omonije were unstoppable against the Revs, combining for 11 kills on 16 swings with no attack errors. Bardin led the way offensively, notching 13 kills, while Brady picked up 17 digs and seven assists.

Up Next
Davidson will welcome reigning A-10 champs Loyola Chicago to Belk Arena on Friday, Sept. 29 for a 7 p.m. first serve.