FOREST, Va. – With the conclusion of the 2015 regular season, the Emory & Henry College Volleyball Team has earned the number six seed for the upcoming Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament, ODAC officials announced Sunday afternoon.
E&H (13-16, 5-6 ODAC) finished sixth in the league for the fifth year in a row and will make a return trip to Lexington, Virginia on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m., to face off against #3 Washington and Lee University (17-14, 9-2 ODAC). The Wasps have made an appearance in the ODAC Tournament every year since the first competition in 1982 but are looking for their first tournament victory since 2001.
In the regular season meeting between the two squads on Wednesday, September 23, the Wasps battled back from a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth and deciding set. The Generals got out to a 5-1 lead in the final frame and after E&H cut the lead to 5-3, scored six of the next eight points to hold on for the 3-2 (25-17, 25-18, 22-25, 21-25, 15-8) victory.
Junior outside hitter Tristen Pennington (Kingsport, Tenn.) led Emory & Henry offensively with 11 kills, 14 digs and four blocks. Junior right-side hitter Hannah Doss (Meadowview, Va.) notched 10 kills, 17 digs and three blocks while junior middle Kennady Thomason (Chattanooga, Tenn.) added eight kills and four blocks. Freshman middle Kate Franklin (Blountville, Tenn.), sophomore outside hitter Ali Singleton (Mount Jackson, Va.) and freshman outside hitter Tori Holmberg (Wake Forest, N.C.) each contributed six kills with Franklin and Holmberg adding four and three blocks, respectively.
Sophomore setter Sarah Scott (Collinsville, Va.) had a team-high 20 assists while freshman Sam McCauley (Glade Spring, Va.) chipped in 15 assists and 14 digs. Junior libero Emily Hinshaw (Boone, N.C.) collected 15 digs and two service aces for the Wasps as well.
Emory & Henry attacked at a .194 (48-17-160) percentage for the match compared to .174 (56-27-167) for Washington and Lee. The Wasps had a total of 11 blocks in the match, but missed 15 serves.
Anna Lausburg paced the Generals' offense with 19 kills and added 14 digs for the double-double. Meg Guignon also recorded a double-double with 13 kills and 14 digs while Mackenzie Shand notched 12 kills and five blocks. Elena West dished out 44 assists and 15 digs while Katie Volk led all players with 21 digs and four service aces.
The winner of Wednesday's match will take on the winner of the #2 Virginia Wesleyan-#7 Randolph matchup, which will also be on Wednesday evening. The tournament semifinals and championship will be on the campus of the highest remaining seed after the quarterfinals on Saturday, November 7.
---E&H---
2015 ODAC VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
Quarterfinals - Wednesday, November 4
Match 1: #8 Lynchburg at #1 Randolph-Macon -- 7:00 p.m.
Match 2: #5 Shenandoah at #4 Roanoke -- 7:00 p.m.
Match 3: #7 Randolph at #2 Virginia Wesleyan -- 7:00 p.m.
Match 4: #6 Emory & Henry at #3 Washington and Lee -- 7:00 p.m.
Semifinals - Saturday, November 7 (at Highest Seed following Quarterfinals)
Match 5: Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2 – TBA
Match 6: Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4 -- TBA
Championship - Saturday, November 7 (at Highest Seed following Quarterfinals)
Match 7: Semifinal Winners -- TBA