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NEWARK, Del. – Freshman Michala Kvapilova (Liberec, Czech Republic) (pictured, right) had six of her 14 kills and hit .375 in the final two sets to ignite a Virginia Commonwealth University comeback in a 3-2 (25-21, 15-25, 18-25, 25-23, 15-10) win over Delaware Friday night at Viera Court.
Freshman Marisa Low (Carlsbad, Calif.) provided 26 digs to support the Rams’ defensive effort. VCU had 87 digs in the match and limited the Blue Hens to a .131 hitting percentage. Junior Kelsie Clegg (Boise, Idaho) added 11 kills and two blocks for VCU. Kim Stewart and Katie Dennehy had 14 kills apiece for Delaware, while Stephanie Barry kicked in 28 digs. “We knew it would be a battle,” VCU Head Coach James Finley said. “But thought we could get our offense going. Instead, it was kind like when we played William & Mary, it was such a battle. The rallies were forever. It was like a Heavyweight boxing match. One of us was going have to outlast the other.” Delaware captured two of the match’s first three hotly-contested sets to jump to a 2-1 advantage. However, VCU came alive in the fourth set, hitting .225 in a wire-to-wire, 25-23, win. Kvapilova blasted four kills in the frame, while Low supplied eight digs. The tiebreaker was all VCU. The set was tied just once, at 1-1, and the Rams streaked to a 9-3 lead behind a balanced offensive attack. Delaware was also plagued by five hitting errors and a pair of service miscues in the final frame. “It was a great team effort,” Finley said. “We just had to outwork them. Two things really made a difference tonight. No. 1, Courtney Hott came in and really gave us some consistency off the bench, and Marisa Low was phenomenal tonight. She was always giving us a chance to play and swing one more time.” VCU returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 31 when heads to Towson, Md. to meet Towson University at 7 p.m. |
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VCU improved to 19-8 overall and 7-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association with the victory. Delaware, which saw its first place lead over the Rams shrink to half a game, is 15-7 on the year, including 8-2 in CAA play. The Blue Hens and Rams do not meet again in the regular season, so if they finish tied for first, VCU would host the CAA Tournament by virtue of Friday’s head-to-head victory.All rights reserved.
