EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Volleyball Team (6-7, 1-2 ODAC) earned a pair of wins Saturday at home in its first tri-match of the year. The Wasps defeated the Royals of Eastern Mennonite University (6-7, 1-3 ODAC) by a 3-1 (25-20, 25-19, 20-25, 25-18) score to open the day and swept West Virginia University Tech (1-12), 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 26-24) to close out competition.

E&H and EMU first squared off in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference match. The Wasps attacked at a .205 (41-16-122) mark for the match compared to 50-35-148 (.101) for the Royals. Emory & Henry also recorded 10 service aces and 10 blocks in the contest while Eastern Mennonite combined for a total of 10 points on aces and blocks.

The Wasps' middles led the way as junior Kennady Thomason (Chattanooga, Tenn.) had 10 kills and seven blocks, hitting .350 (10-3-20) and freshman Kate Franklin (Blountville, Tenn.) registered 11 kills and two blocks. Junior outside hitter Tristen Pennington (Kingsport, Tenn.) had nine kills and six digs while junior right side hitter Hannah Doss (Meadowview, Va.) added six kills and a team-high 15 digs.

Freshman Sam McCauley (Glade Spring, Va.) and sophomore Sarah Scott (Collinsville, Va.) split the setting duties, dishing out 18 and 14 assists, respectively. Junior libero Emily Hinshaw (Boone, N.C.) notched 12 digs and three service aces as well.

Eastern Mennonite was paced by Maria Yoder with 12 kills and three blocks while Becca Hardy added 10 kills and four blocks. Jasmine Johnson posted a match-high 43 assists while Kate Miller had 15 digs and Skyler Johnson contributed seven kills, 14 digs and three blocks.

In their match against West Virginia Tech, Emory & Henry jumped out to a quick lead in the opening set and never looked back. The Golden Bears fought in the third frame, but the Wasps overcame a 7-1 deficit to start things off, scoring 10 of the final 14 points in the match to seal the victory.

Doss added another nine kills and two blocks while Franklin put up seven kills and two blocks. Pennington and Thomason each added six kills while Pennington collected 16 digs. McCauley turned in a double-double with 22 assists and 12 digs while Hinshaw posted a career-high seven service aces and added eight digs.

WVU Tech was led by Kayla Hill with seven kills while Michala Dean added six kills and six digs. Courtney Burkhart and Ana Monteiro each had 11 assists while Madeline Gibson posted a match-high 21 digs.

Emory & Henry will be back on the road on Wednesday when it travels to face Randolph College in an ODAC match. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

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