LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Lynchburg College Volleyball Team (6-1, 1-0 ODAC) picked up its first win in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play Tuesday evening, defeating Emory & Henry College (5-4, 0-1 ODAC) by a 3-1 (25-16, 20-25, 25-18, 25-22) score at Turner Gymnasium.
Down 4-1 in the first set, the Hornets reeled off nine straight points to take a 10-4 lead. Rachel Huffman led the way through the stretch with three straight kills. E&H was able to close the gap to 16-14, but a four-point and five-point run by Lynchburg sealed the first stanza for the home team, which hit at a .290 (13-4-31) clip for the frame.
Emory & Henry bounced back to take the second set. The Wasps took an early five-point lead (7-2) and held on through a strong push by the Hornets to tie the score at 19, scoring six of the last seven points in the game to tie the match at one. Junior middle hitter Kimmie Caudill (Galax, Va.) registered six kills in the second set en route to the win, as E&H hit .237 (12-3-38) as a team.
Up 11-10 in the third frame, Lynchburg went on an 8-3 run, taking control of the set and cruising to a 25-18 win. Both Rachel Huffman and Rebecca Loftis tallied three kills in during the period for the Hornets.
The fourth set seemed like it could go either way right until the end. With the score tied at four, Emory & Henry scored six of the next eight points to go up 10-6, but Lynchburg would knot the score again at 13. The score would be tied six more times (the last time at 22-22) before the Hornets recorded three straight points to take the frame and the match.
Caudill finished with 11 kills on the night and a match-high five blocks while sophomore middle hitter Nicole Tesh (Boone, N.C.) had 11 kills of her own. Junior outside hitters Jamie Cockerham (Galax, Va.) and Morgan Grant (Abingdon, Va.) posted nine and eight kills respectively, while Cockerham had a team-high 12 digs. Sophomore setter Fallon Davis (Mooresville, N.C.) led all players, dishing out 33 assists for the Wasps.
Lynchburg was led offensively by Huffman with 12 kills while Loftis and Moriah Sedlak each chipped in 10 kills apiece. Brooke Moughon (28 assists) and Rachel Turk (17 assists) combined to do the setting duties for the Hornets and Aricquel Payne posted a match-high 13 digs.
Emory & Henry will continue on its three-match road trip when it travels to Norfolk to take on Virginia Wesleyan College on Friday evening. First serve is set for 6:00 p.m.
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