Box Score Scores: VCU 3, William & Mary 0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-10)
Location: Williamsburg, Va. (Kaplan Arena)
Records: VCU 6-7, William & Mary 4-10
THE BASICS
- VCU traveled an hour down I-64 and used its most complete performance of the season to dispatch William & Mary 3-0. The Rams have won four straight matches.
- The Rams dominated in every facet of the game, notably on the attack. VCU hit .337 in the match, while William & Mary was held to a -.020 mark.
- Junior Kalah Jones and senior Janelle Sykes, the reigning Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week, kept the scoreboard moving with 11 kills apiece.
- Meanwhile, senior setter Cecilia Aragao continued her impressive return from last season's kneed injury. She handed out 29 assists in a little over two sets of work and also contributed four blocks.
- Sophomore middle Nora Reed did not commit an error in 13 hitting attempts. She hit .615 with eight kills for VCU.
- Defensively, the Rams outdug the Tribe by a 57-32 margin. Freshman libero Mary Kilbane led all players with 18 digs, while classmate Rebekah Strange added 16.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- This series, dominated by William & Mary in the 80s and 90s, has been nearly all VCU in recent years. The Rams have now won four in a row against the Tribe and 12 of the last 15 in the series, dating back to 2006.
- During VCU's four-match winning streak, Sykes is hitting .409 and averaging 3.56 kills and 1.25 blocks per set. Aragao is handing out 10.56 assists per set over the same stretch.
QUOTABLES FROM COACH JODY ROGERS
"The girls played great. They didn't let up and played at a high level."
"The early schedule is benefitting us now. Playing that tough schedule early can be great if you can stay positive and focus on getting better, and I think you're seeing that now."
"[Our play of late is] a combination of communication and confidence. When you have a lot of new kids playing a significant amount of time, it takes a while to get on the same page. Each game we get better at knowing each other better."
WHAT'S NEXT
VCU will open Atlantic 10 Conference play on Saturday, Sept. 27 when it hits the road to play Davidson at 2 p.m.
