Locals in college: Area duo keys Mary Washington volleyball team

Ellen Smethurst (Covenant) and Laura Gomez (Albemarle) — The Mary Washington volleyball team has gotten off to a flying start this season, sweeping five games in the last week to start 5-0.

“We definitely have had an exciting start to the season,” Smethurst said. “We talked in practice how it is just a start and we have a long way to go.”

Mary Washington downed Mary Baldwin, 3-0, in its first game last Friday.

On the same day, the Eagles played out a tough battle with Philadelphia Bible College, winning 3-2.

“I think we were all kind of nervous,” Gomez said. “We had a couple new girls in our starting lineup. It went really well. That was a good start to the season.”

Gomez attributes a lot of the team’s success to Smethurst.

“She can get in the heads of the other team’s players really well with the defense that she brings,” Gomez said.

Against the Pennsylvania school, the former Patriot had 16 kills and 20 total for the day.

“I felt like I played well,” Gomez added. “We definitely have been working on getting me different looks, trying to use the offense to get all the hitters equal opportunities.”

Smethurst registered five kills in the second victory.

“I think there are things I still need to work on and things I still want to get better at,” Smethurst said. “Just gaining more confidence, and learning the tendencies of the girls around me.”

The following day, the Eagles took down Eastern Mennonite and Salem College without losing a game in either match.

“Those were two great games,” Smethurst said. “We had a couple freshmen just really step up. It was a really good springboard into [Wednesday’s] game.”

Gomez had 18 combined kills in the two contests.

Mary Washington proceeded to open up it’s new William M. Anderson center in front of 400 fans on Wednesday, beating Marymount, 3-0, with Smethurst and Gomez playing vital roles.

“I know we were all pretty nervous,” Gomez said. “We had a lot of people come out, a lot of support from the school. We wanted to entertain them and keep them excited for the rest of the season. We focused on it like just another volleyball game instead of the inauguration of the center.

“It [the stadium] has got a really nice court. It’s really good to play on. New hardwood floors. All the equipment is nice. We have a new net. We have this really cool scoreboard. It feels like a D-1 facility.”

UMW will return to the court on Tuesday, when its hosts Randolph-Macon at 7 p.m.

“We are definitely going to focus on them the next couple practices,” Smethurst said. “We are excited about playing our game and taking it to them.

“Having a 5-0 start can really help a lot. We all really get along. We have a lot of fun.”

Sarah Harper (Western Albemarle) — After starting the year 0-3, Maryland rebounded by winning three consecutive matches at home last weekend, not dropping one game. The Terrapins took down VCU, Quinnipiac and Xavier to get back to .500.

Harper registered 42 total digs in the three contests.

Next up, Maryland (3-3) will host Yale, Sacred Heart and Delaware this weekend.

Kara Elder (Albemarle) — The Christopher Newport volleyball team has started its season off at 3-1, defeating No. California Lutheran (3-0), Bluffton University (3-0) and Stevens Institute of Technology (3-0) in the Haverford College Tournament, falling to the United States Coast Guard Academy during the stretch.

Elder finished with 36 digs in the four games.

The Pirates will play four games in the Washington University National Invite this weekend.