VCU Volleyball vs. Maryland Eastern Shore (9/27/16)
Records: VCU 10-7, Maryland Eastern Shore 7-10
Junior Alica Kandler led the VCU Rams with 15 kills and 12 digs to defeat Maryland Eastern Shore 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 25-21, 25-15) and its VCU’s seventh win in eight matches.
VCU controlled the match from start-to-finish owning advantages in aces, digs, and blocks. Freshman Vicky Giommarini helped the Rams dominate the last two sets 25-21 and 25-15. In the fourth set VCU jumped out to a 9-0 lead, and from that point the match was in their hands.
Giommarini continues to play well with 13 kills in the match, while also serving up three aces. Three Rams recorded three blocks, including sophomore Julia Adler, who also had nine kills.
VCU Men’s Soccer vs. #14 Akron (9/27/16)
Records: VCU 2-5-2, #14 Akron 5-3-1
The VCU Rams and the 14th ranked Akron Zips had plenty of opportunities to win this game, but both teams would have to settle for a scoreless draw on Tuesday night after a double overtime match.
It was a pretty quiet first half until Akron made a push at the end of the half with some offensive pressure, but couldn’t convert on any of their opportunities. The Zips came out firing early in the second half, but like the first, the Zips just couldn’t the ball in the back of the net. So in extra time, the Rams got a shot from Jorge Herranz in the first overtime that went just wide and in the second overtime the Zips missed a breakaway shot that would have won them the game.
VCU took a total of 11 shots, with three on goal, but also were called for offisides three times, that cost them mightily. Goalkeeper Pierre Gardan recorded his first shutout of the season, making five saves in the game. Both sides combined for 27 fouls and seven yellow cards.
VCU Women’s Soccer vs. Davidson (9/29/16)
Records: VCU 5-4-1 (1-0 in A-10), Davidson 4-6 (0-1 in A-10)
Rams Win Atlantic-10 Opener
By: Jason Boleman
The VCU Rams defeated the Davidson Wildcats 2-1 on a night where offense was hard to come by until the second half.
Despite having three shots on goal in the first ten minutes of the game, VCU and Davidson both were unable to get on the scoreboard in the first half. The Rams played tough offensively, and were more often than not on their opponent’s side of the field in the first half.
Davidson, who had zero shots on goal in the first half, scored in the 53′ as Perry Zollicoffer broke the tie. From that point on it was all VCU, with a goal in the 58′ by Julia Suarez, and a goal by Megan Dell off a Suarez assist just eight minutes later. The Rams were then able to hold off the Wildcats despite the rain that made the field slippery in the last minutes.
VCU outshot Davidson 16-7 for the game, with the majority of Davidson’s shots coming in the second half. The Rams improve to 5-4-1 on the season, 1-0 in Atlantic 10 competition.
VCU Volleyball vs. Duquesne (9/30/16)
Records: VCU 10-8 (1-1 A-10), Duquesne 12-6 (2-1 A-10)
Duquesne defeated the VCU Rams 3-1 (16-25, 25-17, 26-24, 25-23) on Saturday as they made critical plays down the stretch to outlast the Rams in four sets.
VCU was leading in the third set 24-22 before the Dukes scored four unanswered points to come away with the win and in the fourth set with the score tied at 22-all, Duquesne seized the opportunity and made play after play to seal the match and knock off a pesky VCU squad.
Freshman Vicky Giommarini led VCU with 10 kills and junior Rebekah Strange was everywhere on the court with 18 digs. Sophomore Julia Adler added nine kills to go along with sophomore Tori Baldwin’s seven kills and five blocks. Junior Alica Kandler also had a good match for the Rams with 13 digs and 8 kills.
It was a well-played match by both teams with VCU leading in hitting percentage, blocks, and digs, but Duquesne was able to serve 10 aces to the Rams’ five.
VCU Men’s Soccer vs. George Mason (10/1/16)
Records: VCU 3-5-2 (1-0 A-10), George Mason 2-6-1 (0-1 A-10)
The VCU Rams defeated the George Mason Patriots 2-0 in their Atlantic Conference opener on Saturday night.
The Rams would get on the board first in the 35th minute with a goal from Jorge Herranz assisted by Eli Lockaby. That was Herranz’s third goal of the season. The score would remain 1-0 until the 79th minute when Luc Fatton would put one through the back of the net and Lockaby recording his second assist of the game. Fatton is the leading goal scorer for the Rams, with four on the season and this was Lockaby’s first multi-assist game of the season.
Goalkeeper Pierre Gardan has turned in back-to-back shutouts for the Rams, making one save in 90 minutes of action against the Patriots.
VCU returns to action on Wednesday, October 5th when they take on the George Washington Colonials on the road. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
VCU Women’s Soccer vs. Duquesne (10/2/16)
Records: VCU 5-5-1 (1-1 A-10), Duquesne 6-3-2 (2-0 A-10)
The Duquesne Dukes defeated the VCU Rams 3-1 after scoring three unanswered goals in the second half.
The Rams started strong with a goal midway through in the first half. Alyssa Tallent would kick a strike in the 32nd minute that would give the Rams a 1-0 lead and Tallent’s first career collegiate goal. But the Dukes came out firing in the second half. Just two minutes into play in the second half, Duquesne’s Malea Fabean would head in a ball to tie the score at 1. Minutes later in the 51st minute Duquesne would take a 2-1 lead with a goal by Linnea Faccenda and for insurance in the 80th minute the Dukes scored the final goal of the game to make it 3-1.
It was a tale of two halves as VCU edged the Dukes 18-17 in total shots and shots on goal 11-10. Goalkeeper Audrey Sanderson made seven saves on 10 shots on goal.
VCU returns to action on Thursday, October 6th against Atlantic-10 foe the Fordham Rams as they travel to the Bronx, N.Y. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
VCU Volleyball vs. La Salle (10/2/16)
Records: VCU 11-8 (2-1 A-10), La Salle 8-10 (0-3 A-10)
The VCU Rams had a dominant performance against La Salle on Sunday winning 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-17) and owning advantages in digs (55-42) and blocks (9-2).
Junior outside hitter Alica Kandler recorded 13 kills, 16 digs, and a pair of blocks to lead the Rams in the one-sided affair. Sophomore Tori Baldwin provided seven kills to go along with her six blocks and freshman Gina Tuzzolo chipped in with nine kills for the Rams.
VCU is now 6-0 against La Salle since they joined the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2012. Now the Rams will play seven of their next nine games at the E.J. Wade Arena at the Stuart C. Siegel Center, where VCU is 5-0 on the season.
The Rams will have the next four games at home, beginning with George Mason on Friday, October 7th at 7 p.m.
