Gallaudet Volleyball Defeats Wesley 3-0 for Fifth Win in Six Matches

Gallaudet's volleyball team defeated Wesley College tonight 25-9, 25-16, 25-20 for their fifth win in six matches as they continue to play their best volleyball of the season.The match was the first for Gallaudet in the Field House in three weeks and the boisterous home crowd helped carry Gallaudet to victory.

The first game of the match started off even 6-6, before Gallaudet exploded to score 11 straight points off 3 outstanding serves by Amy Seibert, back to back kills by Amanda Kreiger and Justine Jeter. Later in the set Paige Johnson had a kill and Jeter added another kill. Wesley called time-out twice but couldn't solve the Gallaudet offense, as the set ended with Galllaudet up 25-9.

The second set Gallaudet got off to a slow start again, as they were down 12-8 at one point, but rallied to score 5 straight points and take a 13-12 lead, which led to another Wesley time-out. But the time-out was ineffective as Gallaudet Head Coach Lynn Ray Boren fired up the team, and the crowd on the student body section of the Gallaudet bleachers grew larger and larger and louder every with every point, and they increased their lead to 20-13. Johnson served nine straight times and Kreiger made a spectecular dig. Despite another time-out by Wesley, Gallaudet continued to pull away, and won the second set 25-16.

The third game was the toughest for Gallaudet as it went back and forth until the score was 20-18, and Wesley used their final time-out. True to form, Gallaudet charged out of their time-out and scored five straight points, including kills by Ursa Rewolinski and Ludmila Mounty-Weinstock to finish off Wesley 25-18. Katelyn Reese made a great block in this game, and had three solo for the match.

Brittany Ellenbecker led the Gallaudet defense which was key to the victory wiith 7 digs. Mounty-Weinstock had 11 kills and Jeter added 10.  As a team Gallaudet had 41 kills and just 11 errors.

Coach Boren mentioned affter the match that the team has practiced really well this week. "The last three practices helped us play better today. This is something we need to do the rest of the season." Coach Boren also mentioned that the team is playing with more understanding of what they need to do on the court to make sucessful plays. "A key word we use is 'Better the ball.' Every time the ball comes to you, I expect my players to ''better the ball.' This builds us up to a better team. What I saw today was a lot of changes in their eyes, understanding the key word."

Coach Boren also praised the home crowd. "Our players were glad to play at home in front of our fans tonight and they didn't let us down. The crowd fired us up and helped us play better. I want to see the same crowd on Tuesday when we honor our Seniors."

Gallaudet will play Catholic University at 7 pm, Tuesday, October 21. Before the game, Seniors Ursa Rewolinski, Katelyn Reese, Ludmila Mounty-Weinstock, and Brittany Ellenbecker will be recognized.

*Rachel Benedict contributed to this article*