Richmond, Va. – Winthrop volleyball concluded their second and final day at the VCU Invitational with a 3-0 loss to the host Rams (16-25, 22-25, 22-25) Saturday afternoon.
Winthrop (2-2, 0-0 Big South) | VCU (1-3, 0-0 A10)
Sep. 7, 2024 | Siegel Center
Winthrop 0, VCU 3 (16-25, 22-25, 22-25)
How it Happened
Set 1 | Winthrop trailed 5-1 early before an error by the Rams, an ace by
Avery Jolley and a kill by
Paige Bennett cut it to one. The Rams answered with five straight points of their own to make it a 10-4 lead. VCU led by as much as seven at 12-5 before the Eagles began to fight back, cutting it to three at 17-14 with a 9-5 spurt with Jolley leading the way with two kills. VCU then scored eight of the final 10 points to end the first set. During VCU's clinching run,
Isabella Murray had a kill and an ace.
Set 2 | Winthrop fell behind 4-1 to start the second frame before kills by Jolley and Bennett made it a one-point game. Then with the Eagles down 7-4, Winthrop came back to lead 13-12 after a kill by
Giselle Little. The Eagles scored nine points to VCU's five after Little's kill. Little was also responsible for tying it up at 11-11 and 12-12, respectively. The Rams then answered with two straight points but kills by Bennett and Jolley put Winthrop back in the lead at 15-14. VCU scored two more points immediately thereafter only for Jolley to tie it up at 16-16 on a kill. VCU broke the deadlock on the next play but
Rachel McCollum's kill knotted it again. The Rams scored the next five points to put them in the lead for good in the set. Winthrop would go on a late push by scoring five of the next seven points to cut it to 24-21. Jolley had two kills during the rally. But the Rams concluded the second set with a kill.
Set 3 | After VCU scored the first point of the third set, a kill by Little, an ace by McCollum and two errors against the Rams gave the Eagles a 4-1 lead. VCU answered with a 9-1 run to take the lead back, 10-5. Then the Eagles rallied to lead 13-12, which included two kills by Bennett. VCU responded with two straight points only for
Karli Shepherd to knot things up at 14-14 on a kill. An error against the Rams put Winthrop up 15-14 and after the two teams split the next two points, three straight mistakes by VCU gave Winthrop an 18-15 lead. The Rams came back to lead 19-18 but another error by VCU tied it at 19. On the next play a kill by VCU put them back in the lead but a Bennett kill tied it at 20. McCollum tied it at 21 two plays later but three straight points by the Rams broke the tie and they went on to wrap up the match two plays later.
Top Performers
Notables
- The Eagles have played 1,806 matches all-time as the program holds a mark of 1,075-731.
- Murray is ninth in school history in assists with 2,080.
- Little hit .625 in the match.
UP NEXT
Winthrop will head to Boone, N.C. next week to compete in the Black and Gold Invitational on the campus of Appalachian State University.
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