VCU Volleyball returned to Siegel Center with a variety of gifts Friday night. The Rams brought back a 7 match winning streak and Day 1 of the VCU Invitational as the Rams took on Bowling Green. Business was taken care of by the home team as another sweep was added to the collection by the Rams.

Opening Flash & Flare

Bowling Green launched out to a 5-0 lead as Set 1 began. Tori Baldwin was able to stop the bleeding temporarily with VCU’ first kill of the match. The Rams were able to turn their errors into points thanks to Gina Tuzzolo scoring a much-needed pair of aces.

Jasmin Sneed fueled the Black & Gold comeback with another team kill as the Rams came roaming back into Set 1. VCU took the lead at 14-13 as Sneed & Tuzzolo denied Bowling Green at the net with a block.

VCU finished Set 1 scoring 6 straight points and won 25-15. The Rams recorded 12 team kills in the opening set against the Falcons.

Two Dominant Rams in Set 2

VCU started Set 2 in a scoring groove. Baldwin began the festivities with the open kill right down the middle of the court. Vicky Giommarini added 2 aces to the mix as the Rams went on a 5-0 scoring run.

After a timeout, Bowling Green was able to get on the scoreboard with a kill of their own. The Falcons started to make ground until Alicia Kandler killed all their chances on the scoreboard. Kandler added a service ace later in Set 2 while Jasmin Sneed scored the game-winning kill for VCU.

The Rams went into halftime up 2-0 after winning Set 2 25-12. Kandler led VCU with 9 kills and Giommarini collected a hat-trick with 3 aces in Set 2.

Another Night, Another Sweep

Set 3 was a back & forth affair between VCU and Bowling Green. BGCU took control early and Baldwin quickly snatched it away after a kill-block Black & Gold combo. Julia Adler made it sweeter with a service ace that put VCU up 6-5.

Another ace was racked up by Tori Pearce as Bowling Green desperately searched for an answer. The Falcons was able to score some points as BGCU started to get back into the fight.

Attacking errors was Bowling Green’s downfall as the Falcons racked up 17 in the match. VCU’s attacking core of Baldwin, Giommarini, Kandler, and Sneed pounced on those scoring 30 of the Rams’ 39 total kills. The Falcons had one more fatal error as the ball was poorly set and fell to the ground to end the match.

VCU increased their winning streak with 8 straight victories after defeating Bowling Green 25-16 for the 3-0 sweep. Alicia Kandler led VCU with 12 kills and Madalon Simpson racked up 14 digs.

Coming up next for the Rams is Day 2 of the VCU Invitational at the Siegel Center. VCU will compete in 2 matches starting with Seton Hall at 1 PM then Northwestern at 7 PM on Saturday, September 16^th.

Mark Turner

Mark graduated from VCU in 2014 with a major in Criminal Justice and a minor in Psychology. He started as a fan of the Black & Gold in the stands his freshman year. Mark was known as "Kazie" for his charismatic fandom with the VCU's student organization the Rowdy Rams. While at VCU he gained experience in sports media with WVCW on a sports radio show called Rowdy Radio. Following graduation, Mark continued crafting his social media skills with the Richmond Kickers while also handling VCU coverage. He is a true fan of the Rams and vocally passionate on and off camera. After the final whistle, you can probably find him at local RVA bar or brewery enjoying a drink and conversation.