Women's Volleyball: George Washington 3 VCU 2

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Women's Volleyball: George Washington 3 VCU 2

Kelsey Newman (#15) led GW with 19 kills

GW Shocks VCU, Smith Center Goes Bonkers

Cross "witness best volleyball match ever, in person" off my bucket list. The George Washington women's volleyball team won its third straight match, topping A-10 leader VCU 3-2 (17-25, 25-22, 25-18, 19-25, 15-8) in an absolute barn burner at Charles E. Smith Center earlier tonight. A raucous crowd of 316 broke into jubilant celebration after the Lady Colonials took control of the fifth and deciding set, handing the Rams their fifth loss of the season (and first in conference play.)

GW improved to 8-10 on the year, and a surprising 3-1 in the A-10. Early on, everything seemed to go in favor of the visiting team: VCU broke open a tight contest by outscoring the Colonials 14-6 to close out the first set. That's when someone (someone very, very smart) decided to move GW's student-athletes courtside and show the visitors what home court advantage is all about. The Colonials evened the match at one set all, breaking a 22-all tie to win the set 25-22. GW dominated play in the third set, before allowing the Rams to tie things up in the fourth. In the fifth and deciding set, GW raced out to a 12-2 lead

Great D by Newman (#15) and Gabrial Rushton (#10) in Set #2

The back and forth affair featured 32 ties and a dozen lead changes over almost two hours of play. Junior Kelsey Newman was all over the court, topping GW in kills with 19; one of four Colonials with double figures (Landon Garvik, Rachael Goss and freshman Chidima Osuchukwu, each with 10 a piece.) Maddy Doyle and senior Jessica Burr led GW with 21 and 12 digs respectively; while freshman setter Emily Clemens racked up a staggering 40 assists!

GW Head Coach Amanda Ault

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention VCU's one-woman wrecking crew Romana Kriskova. The 6'3 Slovakian sophomore was sensational, leading all players with 22 kills and chipping in with 16 digs. A member of the 2012 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team, Kriskova should easily add 1st Team 2013 All-Conference honors to her already impressive resume.

Someone tell Jonathan Tsipis about Rachael Goss (#1)

Tonight's win was especially impressive, when you consider VCU swept GW 3-0 just eight days ago. Next up for the Colonials... Another A-10 matchup at La Salle, before returning home to host George Mason on Sunday, October 20th at 1:00 PM. Don't forget: This year's A-10 tourney will be held at Smith Center (November 22-24.) Wouldn't it be swell if GW & VCU could meet again?