W&L Netters Fall In NCAA Quarters
The 11th-ranked Washington and Lee University women’s volleyball team’s historic season came to an end with a 3-0 loss to No. 2 Hope College in the NCAA Division III quarterfinals last Wednesday night at Roanoke College’s Cregger Center in Salem.
Hope improved to 29-2 and advanced to the semifinals by earning a 25-21, 25-22, 25-20 victory over the Generals (35-3 overall, 12-0 Old Dominion Athletic Conference). It was the first appearance in the national quarterfinals for W&L, which saw its 16-match winning streak snapped.
Riley Debiec led the Generals with 11 kills and had three blocks, while Grace Mitchener recorded 10 kills and eight digs, and Avery Myers added nine kills. Allie Buchholz paced W&L with 32 assists and had 12 digs and three blocks, while Vivi Vasquez led the Generals with 17 digs, and Penelope Quiles had two aces.
Leading the Flying Dutch were Addie VanderWeide with 17 kills, Alison De-Weerd with three blocks, Lauren Lee with 45 assists and Samantha Seib with 17 digs.
The Generals’ 35 wins tied the 2003 squad for the most wins in program history.
W&L head coach Bryan Snyder celebrated his 650th career win at W&L during the team’s 3-0 victory over Christopher Newport University in the NCAA Division II Regional Championship on Nov. 30 in Newport News. It was the Generals’ first regional title in program history, after they won their second consecutive and 20th overall Old Dominion Athletic Conference title. Over 25 seasons, Snyder has led the Generals to a 650-205 record (.760) and boasts an overall record of 691-230 (.750) in 27 seasons. He currently ranks seventh among active Division III head coaches and 28th all-time.
The Generals will graduate four seniors: Buchholz, Myers, Alyssah McGuire and Maddie Weller.
For more on the quarterfinals and W&L’s season, visit www.generalssports. com.
