Volleyball beats William & Mary at Xavier University Tournament

Friday, September 6

Cincinnati, Ohio

7 p.m.

Xavier University

2-2

Akron

2-3

Akron

Xavier

Photo by: Rooted Media House

Volleyball beats William & Mary at Xavier University Tournament

09.08.19 | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score 3

Moriah Hopkins named to All-Tournament Team

By: By Mark Leopold, Xavier Athletics Communications

CINCINNATI, Ohio - Xavier volleyball knocked off William & Mary to pick up their first home victory of 2019. The win comes after a close five-set loss to Akron and before a three-set loss to the tournament champions, Wright State. Following the tournament, Moriah Hopkins was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Xavier (3-3) will travel to Nashville next weekend to take on Lipscomb on September 13 at 7:30 pm ET before facing either Louisville or Purdue on September 14.

Match 1: Akron Highlights

• Xavier had four players record double-digits kill totals: Moriah Hopkins (14), Norah Painter (12), Ellie Chaffee (12) and Lauren Hanlon (11).

• Four Musketeers had four or more blocks, too: Jayda Carlton (8), Moriah Hopkins (5), Lauren Hanlon (5) and Ellie Chaffee (4).

• Libero Alyssa Overbeck led the way with 24 digs, and Madi Kutruff and MaryAnn O'Toole followed with 17 each.

Akron Summary

• Xavier trailed for much of the first set, but fought to tie the score at 16, and Akron would never lead again. With the score tied at 23, Hopkins put down her 5th kill of the set, and the following point was a long rally that went to the Musketeers, too.

• Set Two was back and forth early as neither team could gain an advantage. However, with the score 15-15, Xavier started to pull away and would close on a smooth 7-0 run to go up 2 sets to 0.

• Set Three was a different story as Akron started 6-0 and would lead by as much as eight. Xavier never gave up, as they chipped away two or three points at a time to get within two, but Akron shut the door and closed on 5-0 run to stay alive.

• In Set Four, Xavier went on a 4-0 run to break a 3-3 tie. They would maintain the lead for the majority of the set as three-straight kills from Painter extended lead to 15-10. However, the Zips slowly came back and took the lead 18-17. Xavier responded with another 4-0 run to go up 21-18, but Akron echoed with 5-1 run to lead 23-22. The incredibly exciting set finished 27-25 and set up the deciding set.

• Ellie Chaffee started Set Five with two kills to go up 2-0. Akron would respond to go up 6-3 before Xavier tied the score 6-6 after a Carrigan O'Reilly ace. Akron continued to play cohesively and broke out a 4-1 run to lead 10-7. However, Xavier would come back to tie it at 13. Unfortunately, they were never able to see match point and lost the final set 13-15.

Match 2: W&M Highlights

• Following their Akron performances, the same four Xavier players recorded double-digits kill totals again: Moriah Hopkins (10), Norah Painter (12), Ellie Chaffee (11) and Lauren Hanlon (10).

• Not to be outdone, Carlton recorded eight more blocks to bring her tournament total to 16.

• Overbeck notched three of Xavier's five aces, and the team would double William & Mary's block total at 12-6.

W&M Summary

• The score was 3-3 in Set One before Xavier went on an 8-1 run to go up 11-4 and break it open. The lead continued to grow by three or four points at a time. Five kills from Painter and four from Hopkins insured that Xavier would triumph, and they finished the set 25-10 in just 18 minutes.

• Set Two was back and forth early with six ties and four lead changes. William & Mary broke out by as much as 4 and never let the lead go. Xavier cut it to 12-13 and stuck around for most of the Set, but W&M hung on to win 25-21.

• In a crucial Set Three for the Musketeers, the teams were on even terms early. Xavier lead 9-5 before W&M went on 5-0 run to lead 10-9. Later, Xavier responded with a 7-1 run to lead 21-15. Not to be outdone, William & Mary came back to to tie it at 24. However, Xavier was not about to let the Set slip away, and they shut the door to take it 26-24.

• Set Four was marked by Xavier's strength in the middle. Trailing 5-7, Xavier went on an incredible 9-0 run to lead 14-7, and they never looked back to take the match.

Match 3: WSU Highlights

• Xavier didn't have much time to pile up stats, as Wright State never dropped a set while in Cincinnati this weekend. With limited time, Painter led the way with nine kills.

• MaryAnn O'Toole was Xavier's dig leader, as she saved 16 balls. Overbeck was second with 12, as the two combined for 28 of the Musketeers' 45 digs.

WSU Summary

• Xavier won the first point, but Wright State broke out to a 9-3 lead. Chipping away little by little, Xavier brought it to 13-15, but the Raiders stretched the lead back to six at 15-21. Xavier countered with a 4-0 run to bring it back to 19-21, but Wright State closed strong to win 25-21.

• There was no edge in Set Two until 7-7. There, Wright State went on a 5-0 run to lead 12-7. They continued to extend lead to as much as 10 and cruised to win 25-16.

• The final set of the tournament followed a similar formula. It was kept close early, but WSU led 6-5 before three-straight points put them in control. A seemingly-endless 9-0 run grew the lead to 12 at 19-7, and they would finish strong to win 25-13 and take the championship.

Awards

• Following the tournament, Moriah Hopkins was named to the All-Tournament Team primarily for her leadership while racking up 28 kills, a .195 hitting percentage and nine blocks.

Up Next

• Xavier (3-3) will travel to Nashville next weekend to take on Lipscomb on September 13 at 7:30 pm ET before facing either Louisville or Purdue on September 14.