Written by Elle Gunter
The Maroons volleyball team split a pair of non-conference matches in Washington, DC on Saturday. The first match was a win over Penn State Berks, followed by a loss to Gallaudet to finish the road trip.
In match one against Penn State Berks, the Maroons were off to a hot start on the weekend, sweeping PSUB in three sets. For the first set, the Lions took the first four points before Roanoke answered back with a strong 6-0 run to take the lead. PSUB never caught back up after the first Maroons run. Tied up at 17-12, the Maroons went on an 8-0 run to finish the first set with a final of 25-12. The second set was no different, Roanoke came out swinging with a 16-1 advantage over the Lions before splitting the next 18 points. They won the second set 25-10. With a 9-1 start for the Maroons in the beginning of the third, PSUB came as close as four points with a score of 14-10 before RC stretched its lead to a final of 25-17. Senior Ryanna Clark led the Maroons with 9 kills and 6 blocks, while Kylee Draper had a match-high of 20 assists and 7 digs.
For the second match of the day, the Maroons played three close sets with the host Gallaudet. Going back and forth for most of the first set, the Bison took a 20-13 lead before the Maroons made an 8-1 run, closing the gap 22-21. GU closed the first set with the final three points. Battling again, Gallaudet led Roanoke by seven, midway through the second match, until RC closed the gap to one point at 24-23. A final kill by the Bison put Roanoke down 2-0 going into the third set. Off to a slow start, GU led Roanoke 16-7 before coming within four points late in the set. With a strong run by the host, Gallaudet swept the match 3-0. Rylee Mayer led the team with 12 kills and 2 blocks, while Peyton Kirchner added 7 kills, 2 blocks, and an ace in the loss to the Bison.
The Maroons close out ODAC regular season play as Washington and Lee travels to take on Roanoke this week, followed by the 2023 ODAC tournament next week.
