ROANOKE, Va. - The Emory & Henry College Volleyball Team (16-9, 6-5 ODAC) got back on the winning track Tuesday evening as it defeated Hollins University (7-20, 1-10 ODAC) by a 3-1 (25-19, 25-15, 16-25, 25-18) score. With the win, the Wasps finish in sixth place in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference regular season.
E&H got out to a 1-0 lead after the first set. Hollins led 4-0 starting off but the Wasps fought their way back to tie the contest at six points apiece. The score would stay tight until it was knotted at 19 and Emory & Henry reeled off six straight points to take the set, 25-19.
In the second stanza, the Wasps used a 9-0 run early to take a 12-4 lead. A four-point run later in the set gave E&H a 10-point margin (20-10) that it kept on the way to a 25-15 win to go up 2-0 in the match.
Hollins narrowed the margin to 2-1 after the third frame. A 10-2 scoring spurt put the green-and-gold up, 14-7. E&H put together a four-point run to close the gap to 16-13, but Hollins scored nine of the last 12 points of the set to win 25-16.
Emory & Henry sealed the victory with the fourth period. With the score tied, 3-3, E&H tallied five straight and never looked back. The rest of the set was mostly side-out volleyball, with the Wasps getting four two-point scoring runs compared to just two for Hollins.
Senior outside hitter Jamie Cockerham (Galax, Va.) and junior middle Nicole Tesh (Boone, N.C.) combined for 27 kills in the contest as the registered 14 and 13, respectively. Cockerham completed the double-double with 15 digs. Also tallying a double-double was senior middle Kim Caudill (Galax, Va.) (10 kills and 10 digs).
Sophomore setter Maleah Neely (Hillsville, Va.) had a match-high 43 assists while freshman libero Madison DeBord (Williamsburg, Va.) led all players with 22 digs. Freshman outside hitter Hannah Stewart (Boone, N.C.) also contributed with nine kills and 12 assists.
Hollins was paced by Lauren Hayes as she notched 10 kills. Lela Moore had 27 assists in the contest while Jessie Deese and Emily Lowther tallied 15 and 14 digs, respectively.
Emory & Henry will return home on Thursday to face Ferrum College at 7:00 p.m. The Wasps will honor their three seniors prior to the contest.
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