EMORY, Va. – The Roanoke College Volleyball Team (6-0, 1-0 ODAC) rallied from a 9-8 deficit in the fifth set to claim a 3-2 (25-20, 25-21, 20-25, 19-25, 15-11) win over Emory & Henry College (2-4, 0-1 ODAC) Wednesday evening at the John Rutledge King Center.

Roanoke came out of the gate to take a 2-0 lead in the match, hitting .300 (25-7-60) over the course of the first two sets. Kylah Blackmore and Sydney Daniel combined for 15 kills during the stretch.

The Emory & Henry attack found its form in the third frame, hitting .286 (11-3-28) while the Maroons went just 8-6-28 (.071). The Wasps continued their strong performance in the fourth set, notching 17 kills with just one error for a .421 hitting percentage. Junior outside hitter Tristen Pennington (Kingsport, Tenn.) had 12 kills in the two sets and went 8-0-15 (.533) in the fourth set alone.

The fifth frame went back and forth early on to an 8-8 tie. After E&H went up 9-8, Roanoke reeled off five-straight points to take a 13-9 advantage. The Wasps trimmed the lead to 13-11 with two points in a row forcing the Maroons to call a timeout but RC came out of the break with the two final points to take the match.

Roanoke was led by Blackmore and Allison White, who each had 13 kills in the match while Daniel added 10 kills of her own. Blackmore also recorded 12 digs to complete the double-double while Jessica Block had match-highs with 48 assists and four service aces. Alexandra Martin led all players with 27 digs as well for the Maroons.

Pennington completed the match with a season-high 21 kills, hitting .268, while sophomore outside hitter Ali Singleton (Mount Jackson, Va.) had 15 kills on a .414 attack percentage. Junior middle Kennady Thomason (Chattanooga, Tenn.) had nine kills while freshman middle Kate Franklin (Blountville, Tenn.) had her best performance so far with eight kills. Sophomore setter Sarah Scott (Collinsville, Va.) dished-out a team-high 34 assists and three blocks while junior right side hitter Hannah Doss (Meadowview, Va.) led the Wasps with 24 digs and three blocks as well to go along with seven kills.

Emory & Henry will look to get back on track this weekend with four matches at the Greensboro College Tournament. The Wasps will play Oglethorpe and West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday at 2:00 p.m., and 6:00 p.m., respectively.

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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15