ATLANTA – The Emory & Henry College Volleyball Team (8-3) came up short in its first two matches of the Emory Invitational, hosted by Emory University at the Woodruff Physical Education Center. The Wellesley College Blue defeated E&H by a 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-23) score in the first contest of the day and the No. 4 Emory Eagles claimed a 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-10) victory over the Wasps in the nightcap.

Wellesley, which is receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll, picked up the win over Emory & Henry in the first match of the day. The Blue was led by Sydney Carfagno's 12 kill performance while Caitlin Laughlin had seven kills. Hilary Ayers dished-out 22 assists while Maddie Koh had 11 assists. Traci Hamanaka notched a match-high 10 digs.

The Wasps were led by freshman outside hitter Hannah Doss (Meadowview, Va.), who registered a match-high 14 kills while freshman outside hitter Tristen Pennington (Kingsport, Tenn.) and senior middle Nicole Tesh (Boone, N.C.) had nine and eight kills, respectively. Freshman setter Autumn Roe (Bluff City, Tenn.) recorded 18 assists after replacing junior Maleah Neely (Hillsville, Va.), who left in the first set after sustaining an injury.

In the second match of the day, E&H went up against national powerhouse Emory, currently ranked fourth in NCAA Division III. Kate Bowman paced the Eagles with 12 kills, nine digs and a .400 hitting percentage while Cat McGrath notched nine kills. Sydney Miles had a match-high 30 assists and Jessica Holler tallied six kills and seven blocks.

Pennington led the way for Emory & Henry with nine kills and five digs while Doss added six kills. Roe notched 17 assists in the match while senior libero Kelly Mae Kerlin (Franklin, Tenn.) had five digs.

For the match, Emory hit .371 (45-12-89) while E&H was 19-18-84 (.012) on the attack against the perennial national contender. The Eagles also held an 11-5 advantage on blocks and a 6-1 margin on service aces.

Emory & Henry will conclude its slate in the Emory Invitational on Saturday with a pair of matches against more familiar opponents. The Wasps will take on two sets of Scots, facing Covenant College at 10:30 a.m., and Maryville (Tenn.) College at 1:00 p.m.

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