By Wesley Evans

BUENA VISTA, Va.—In a raucous Knight Sports Arena Wednesday evening, the Southern Virginia University women's volleyball team avenged an early-season loss to Roanoke College, defeating the Maroons 3-1 by scores of 26-24, 25-22, 26-28 and 25-15 Wednesday night in Buena Vista, Virginia.

After going up 14-9 in set one, seven Southern Virginia (10-6) errors caused the Maroons to go on an 8-3 run and tie the score at 17 apiece. The two squads traded point for point the rest of the way until a ball handling error by Roanoke gave the Knights a 25-24 advantage. Freshman Hannah Phillips followed up with a service ace to close out the set, and give Southern Virginia a 1-0 lead.

The Maroons (12-5, 1-2 ODAC) dominated set No. 2 early, tallying off nine straight points before an attack error finally put the home team on the scoreboard. Southern Virginia slowly cut into the deficit—gaining momentum off nine Roanoke errors and two April Bennett service aces—before knotting the set at 17-17. Falling behind 22-20 and calling a timeout, the Knights regrouped to score five straight points, highlighted by two Calyn Barry kills, to secure the set.

Set No. 3 saw a back-and-forth battle as the teams swapped point for point throughout. It looked as though Southern Virginia would go for the three-set sweep, gaining a 24-22 advantage, but Roanoke College fought back and took the set off a Knight service error and kill by outside hitter Allison White.

It was all Southern Virginia in set four as it jumped out to a commanding 12-4 lead. Despite a final push from the Maroons late in the frame, a Phillips kill off an assist from Katelynn Tlustek secured the set and give the Knights the 3-1 win.

For the second straight match, freshman Vanessa Pawlak led all Southern Virginia hitters with 16 kills to go along with 10 digs. Phillips and senior Kaitlyn Eaton finished with 10 kills apiece, while Barry pitched in eight kills of her own.

At the setter position, Tlustek finished with 29 assists to lead the Knights, while Bennett owned a team-best 19 digs on the defensive side of the net.

Brooke Bostwick led Roanoke College with 11 kills.

Volleyball has just one day off before it travels to Lynchburg, Virginia, Friday evening to take on the Hornets of Lynchburg College. The first serve is set to take place at 6:30 p.m.