Buena Vista, Va. -- The University of Lynchburg women's volleyball team opened its 2026 campaign with a sweep over Southern Virginia on Tuesday evening at Knight Arena.
The RV Hornets won by set scores of 25-13, 25-20 and 25-18 to move to 1-0. Lynchburg recorded 42 kills and 11 attack errors on 92 total attempts for a .337 hitting percentage. The Hornets posted 16 kills and hit .375 in the opening set before totaling 12 kills in the second. Lynchburg closed the match with 14 kills and only one error on 31 attempts, producing a match-high .419 hitting percentage in the third set.
Lynchburg came out of the gate strong, scoring the first eight points of the match and holding at least a seven-point advantage through the remainder of the first frame. The two sides fought a closer battle in the second set as neither squad led by more than two until Lynchburg rattled off a stretch of five straight points near the end of the frame. Ahead 19-17, the Hornets capitalized on SVU attack errors and
Alexis Scipione served up two aces to claim a 24-17 advantage and later claimed the set by five points. Although there were two occasions where the score was knotted in the third and final frame, Lynchburg never trailed and finished with a 6-2 run to ultimately earn the victory.
Kate Hardie tallied a double-double as she led the Hornets with 13 kills and collected a team-high 12 digs. She hit .385 on 26 attempts and notched one service ace and two block assists.
Tori Williamson and
Leah DiNardo finished with eight kills apiece. Williamson hit .412 and added seven digs, while DiNardo recorded a team-best .600 hitting percentage on 10 attempts. DiNardo also contributed one solo block and five block assists.
Cambre Phillips registered six kills and 11 digs, and
Ava Meinhardt added five kills and two service aces.
Alexis Scipione directed the offense with 36 of Lynchburg's 40 assists. Scipione also finished with three service aces, seven digs, four block assists and two kills on three attempts.
Mia Hinkamper recorded nine digs, while
Haydyn Proscia added a service ace.
The Hornets totaled eight service aces, 47 digs and seven team blocks. Southern Virginia finished with 22 kills, 20 attack errors and a .022 hitting percentage. The Knights recorded four kills in the first set, seven in the second and 11 in the third. There were nine tie scores and four lead changes during the match, including seven ties and all four lead changes in the second set.
Lynchburg returns to the court this weekend for a three-match stint in Sewanee, Tenn. to face the likes of North Park and Sewanee on Friday, September 4 at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., then Transylvania on Saturday, September 5 at noon.
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