Field hockey usurps No. 11 Monarchs

Andy Riddler

Contributing Writer

Field Hockey won two games last weekend over conference rivals University of Richmond and nationally-ranked Old Dominion University to stretch its winning streak to four.

Old Dominion

VCU conquered the No.11 Monarchs of Old Dominion University 3-2 in a backand-forth affair Sunday in Norfolk, giving VCU its fourth win in a row.

Graduate midfielder Shannon Pereira — who also recorded an assist — started the scoring with a goal off a rebound following a shot by sophomore midfielder Svea Sturm almost 12 minutes into the game.

Old Dominion answered with a goal in the 27th minute from junior forward Erin Huffman, assisted by Alexandria Brewer, leading into halftime with the score tied.

Senior forward Emily McNamara gave VCU its lead back two minutes into the second half with a shot to the bottom left corner of the net — her 16th goal of the season.

The Monarchs responded again, this time with a goal by Rebecca Birch, assisted by Alexandria Brewer and Marlee McClendon, off a penalty corner at the 55-minute mark.

Freshman defender Litiana Field stepped in as a hero for VCU, scoring the game-winning goal — assisted by sophomore midfielder Maite Sturm — off a penalty corner to give the Rams a 3-2 lead with 12 minutes left to play.

VCU’s defense held Old Dominion without a shot on-goal for the rest of the game to claim its first victory over a nationally-ranked team since 2009.

Richmond

The Black and Gold defeated the Richmond Spiders Sept. 21 by a final score of 7-2 at Cary Street Field. VCU scored five unanswered goals to pull away for its third straight win.

Pereira started scoring early for VCU, notching a goal less than two minutes into the game on an assist from Litiana Field. Field finished the game with three assists. Scoring off a penalty corner near the

Volleyball sweeps trio of conference matches

RODNEY ROBINSON

Contributing Writer

After three game cancellations as a result of Hurricane Florence, the Rams defended their turf and swept three games at home.

Duquesne

The Rams extended their Atlantic 10 winning streak to 19 matches Sept. 23 against Duquesne University. The Dukes threatened to force a fifth set tie-breaker, rallying to tie the Rams in the fourth set, 23-23. However, junior opposite hitter Gina Tuzzolo spiked a kill, followed by a knuckling serve from junior Madalon Simpson, to close out the match.

The Rams’ story was their balanced offense — VCU had five different players record 10 or more kills in the matchup. This balanced attack from the Rams continues to be their staple.

Junior outside hitter Vicky Giommarini led the Rams with an all-around great performance on Sunday. Giommarini spiked 13 kills on the day, with 13 digs and three blocks on defense.

The Black and Gold hope to build on this balanced attack as they go deeper into conference play.

La Salle

VCU won its first A-10 matchup of the season Friday against La Salle University three sets to one. After a tough first set, which featured 15 ties and five lead changes, VCU managed to take sets two and four to close out the match.

Tuzzolo led the Rams offensively with 15 kills. The junior hit .265 on the night and recorded three blocks. Giommarini turned in another all-around performance for VCU in its conference opener, spiking 13 kills on just two errors. Giommarini served five aces and recorded nine digs.

VCU’s defensive effort was extraordinary in the matchup. The Black and Gold had two players with at least eight blocks, while La Salle hit .188 from the field.

JMU six-minute mark, McNamara extended the lead for the Rams. She finished with three goals and an assist, marking her third consecutive game with a hat trick.

The Rams rallied to beat James Madison University in a five-set thriller Sept. 17. After VCU took the first set, JMU went on a run and won the next two. With the Rams’ backs against the wall, they edged the Dukes in the fourth set, 25-23. VCU managed to push past the Dukes in the fifth set 17-15, after withstanding three JMU match points.

Junior middle blocker Jasmin Sneed fueled VCU’s comeback on Monday, finishing with nine kills and hitting .444. She was also a force on defense with seven blocks. Sneed came up big in crunch time on Monday, with four kills and a block in the fifth-set tiebreaker, a set where the Rams trailed 14-12 before closing the match on a 5-1 run.

The Black and Gold balance continued for the early season. Four different VCU players recorded double-digit kills — Giommarini led the pack with 19. Freshman libero Alyna Draper recorded 21 digs in an outstanding defensive effort.

The Rams look to extend their three-game win streak as they go on the road Sept. 28 to take on St. Louis University.

After the Spiders clawed back into the game with two goals of their own, the Rams regained their two-goal lead with tallies by Maite Sturm and McNamara before the end of the first half. Maite Sturm finished with two goals in the win over Richmond.

Sophomore defender Emily van Hijfte added a goal and an assist in the second half to help cap off the scoring for VCU. VCU recorded 31 shots, 15 of which were on goal. Richmond finished with ten shots, and six on goal.

The Rams will spend the weekend traveling to compete against St. Francis College Sept. 28 and Bucknell University Sept. 30.