BALTIMORE, Md.—The William Smith volleyball team rallied to defeat Lynchburg 3-2 in a thrilling five-set first round matchup in the 2025 NCAA tournament. With the win, the Herons improve to 24-7 on the season and advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history. The Hornets concluded their season with a 26-5 overall record.
 
The historic win for William Smith saw a back-and-forth battle between the Herons and the Hornets. William Smith combined for 64 kills (.248) as a team, while Lynchburg put down 62 (.203) as a team. The Hornets held an 11-7 edge in service aces, while the Herons held a 67-64 advantage in digs. Both William Smith and Lynchburg tallied nine blocks in the five-set thriller.
 
Senior outside Malya Sayre led William Smith with 22 kills, hitting .340, and 12 digs for her 11th double-double of the season. With her ninth dig of the day, Sayre surpassed the 1,000-career dig mark, marking the first Heron in program history to do so. Sayre also added four blocks, one service ace and one assist in the win.
 
Sophomore Emily Fulton added 16 kills (.204) and 12 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Fulton chipped in one block and one assist in the win. Senior Hope Von Dohlen (.059) and sophomore Arielle Newsome (.238) added eight kills each in the win and combined for five blocks and three digs in the win. With her third block of the day, Newsome surpassed the 200-career block mark, marking the second Heron in program history to do so. Senior Jaylynn McCarthy chipped in seven kills (.250), four blocks and two digs for William Smith.
 
Ava Meinhardt (.367) and Kate Hardie (.194) led the Hornets with 15 kills each in the loss. The duo combined for eight blocks, four service aces and two digs. Alexis Scipione tallied a team-high 23 assists and added nine digs, three aces and two kills (.667) for Lynchburg.

MATCH MOMENTS:

• The opening set saw the Herons and Hornets trade points as William Smith combined for 16 kills (.293), while Lynchburg put down a match-high 19 kills (.349). Despite taking an early lead, the Hornets stormed back and took the first set with a tight 25-23 win.
• The battle continued in the second set as the Herons combined for a match-high 19 kills (.311), while the Hornets tallied 15 kills (.233). The roles were reversed in the second set as William Smith clawed its way back into the set after falling behind early. The Herons closed out the second set with a 28-26 win thanks to kills from Fulton and Von Dohlen.
• Lynchburg responded well in the third set and put down 11 kills (.259) as a team, while holding William Smith to just 10 kills (.061). Errors plagued the Herons as they racked up eight hitting errors, handing the Hornets a 25-15 win in set three.
• William Smith flipped the script in the fourth set and turned up the heat in the must-win set. The Herons put down 10 kills (.214), while the Hornets also tallied 10 kills (.026). William Smith forced Lynchburg into several out of system swings, ending with the Hornets tallying nine hitting errors in the set. A big kill by McCarthy forced a decisive fifth set in the first-round matchup.
• The Herons came out hot in the fifth set, putting down nine kills (.389), while holding the Hornets to just seven kills (.095). William Smith kept the pressure on, forcing several errors from Lynchburg. The Herons closed out the fifth set on top 15-10 thanks to a kill from Von Dohlen, marking its first ever NCAA tournament win in program history.

MATCH STATS:

• Sayre paced the Herons with 22 kills (.340), while Fulton chipped in 16 kills (.204) in the win. Von Dohlen (.059) and Newsome (.238) added eight kills each, while McCarthy tallied seven (.250) for William Smith.
• Sophomore setter Delainy Williams had another standout performance for the Herons, tallying a match-high 54 assists through five sets. She added 10 digs, three kills (.500) and two service aces in the win. It was her second double-double of the season.
• The Herons combined for 67 digs as a team and were led by sophomore libero Kali Vanderhoof with 18. Sayre and Fulton chipped in 12 digs each, while Williams added 10 in the win. Senior Marin Montagne and first-year Madilyn Kresl added five digs each for William Smith.
• William Smith tallied seven service aces in the historic win and was led by senior Cydney Fernandez with three aces. Williams added two, while Sayre and Kresl chipped in one ace each.
• The Green and White stayed strong at the net and combined for nine blocks as a team. Newsome led the way with five blocks, while McCarthy and Sayre added four blocks each.

COACHES CORNER:

"I am so incredibly proud of this team!" said Head Coach Derryk Williams. "They made history tonight and did it with true Heron resilience, pride and grit! We had so many people step up in big moments and earned that win! It is an incredible moment for our program, and we are so far from done! I can't wait to take on Hopkins tomorrow!"
 
UP NEXT:
 
William Smith advances to play in the second round of the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history. The Herons will take on the host Blue Jays in the Johns Hopkins Regional on Friday, Nov. 21. Action is set to start at 7 p.m. in Goldfarb Gymnasium.