DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University volleyball put away Shenandoah University 3-0 in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play Friday night in the Grant Center. The Cougars, winners of four in a row, beat Shenandoah 25-22, 25-21 and 27-25.
Averett (13-7, 8-2 ODAC) had to fend off the Hornets in all three sets. In the opener, Shenandoah (7-10, 3-5 ODAC) stayed toe-to-toe with the Cougars and held a 17-15 advantage before Averett rattled off six consecutive points to jump ahead 21-17. The Hornets had a four-point rally to get within 24-22 before junior
Sarah Marlowe got the set-winning kill.
The Cougars fell behind 6-1 early in Set 2 before mounting a comeback to go up 13-12. Tied 21-21, Averett won the last four points to go up 2-0 in the match.
Averett took the early lead in Set 3 and went up 19-14. Shenandoah, however, didn't go away easily. The Hornets buzzed back to take a 22-21 lead, setting up a thrilling finish. Marlowe, the reigning ODAC Player of the Week, had three big kills down the stretch as the Cougars escaped 27-25 to sweep the Hornets.
Marlowe finished with a team-high 16 while hitting .560, and junior
Destiny McIntosh added eight kills with a .538 attack percentage. Senior
Morgan Barnes and junior
Emma Nash both finished with nine kills apiece, with junior
Erin Gray totaling 16 digs. Sophomore
Kinsley Stevens led the Cougars with 29 assists.
The Cougars improved to 47-1 all-time against Shenandoah.
Averett returns to action on Saturday at home against Eastern Mennonite University at noon.
