EMORY, Va. - The Guilford College Volleyball Team (11-14, 5-5 ODAC) picked up a pivotal win in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play on Tuesday night as the Quakers defeated the Wasps of Emory & Henry (14-10, 5-5 ODAC), 3-2 (13-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-23, 15-13). Guilford and E&H are tied now for sixth place in the league standings.
Prior to the contest the Wasps honored seniors Sam Lucado (Salem, Va.) and Selena Trichel (Hilton Head, S.C.).
Emory & Henry swarmed out of the gate to a 20-7 lead in the first set, easily cruising to the win. Lucado had four service aces in the stanza while junior outside hitter Jamie Cockerham (Galax, Va.) and sophomore middle Nicole Tesh (Boone, N.C.) each had five kills.
The second set featured 10 ties and five lead changes as the Quakers battled to the victory. With the score tied at 21, Guilford was able to reel off four straight points to even the match at one.
Emory & Henry bounced back in the third set, getting out to a 4-0 lead. The Wasps put together a 9-4 run in the middle of the frame and were able to hold off a 6-1 run by the Quakers to retake the lead in the contest.
No team led by more than three points in the fourth period, as the set had 11 ties and six lead changes. Guilford hit .270 (13-3-37) and got six kills from Laura Kopold on seven attempts to force the deciding set.
The Quakers rushed out to a lead in the fifth frame and led by as much as 12-4 before Emory & Henry began to chip away. The Wasps had the opportunity to tie the score at 14-14 after a 9-2 run, but came up just short.
Cockerham led Emory & Henry all around with 19 kills, a .317 hitting percentage (19-6-41), 19 digs and three blocks, adding three service aces. Junior outside hitter Morgan Grant (Abingdon, Va.) had 14 kills and Tesh finished the night with 10. Lucado had 14 digs on the evening and added five service aces to lead all players while sophomore setter Fallon Davis (Mooresville, N.C.) dished out a team-high 42 assists and added 12 digs and four service aces.
Guilford was paced by Emma Gunn with 16 kills while Mary Moody had 12 kills and 14 digs. Kopold finished the night with 10 kills. Taylor Whitley had a match-high 43 assists while Taylor Phillips led the Quakers with 15 digs.
Emory & Henry will travel to Maryville, Tenn., on Saturday to take on Maryville College and Covenant College in a triangular match. The Wasps will face the the Maryville Scots at 4:00 p.m. before taking on the Covenant Scots in a 6:00 p.m. matchup.
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