EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Volleyball Team (13-8, 5-2 ODAC) pushed its win streak to four matches with a 3-0 (25-15, 22-25, 25-20, 25-15) win over Shenandoah University (10-13, 2-5 ODAC) in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play.
The Wasps attacked at a .321 percentage (56-13-134) for the match and were led by freshman outside hitter Tristen Pennington (Kingsport, Tenn.), who had 17 kills, eight digs and three blocks. Senior middle Nicole Tesh (Boone, N.C.) added 16 kills with a .600 kill percentage in addition to two aces and three blocks.
The first set saw multiple ties and lead changes until E&H reeled off five-straight points halfway thru the frame to take a decisive lead of 18-12. The Wasps never looked back as they took the first set by a score of 25-22.
The Hornets jumped out front in the second stanza with an early 4-0 lead. Though Emory & Henry battled back to 13-12, Shenandoah pushed its lead to 19-14 and held on for the 22-25 victory to tie the match.
The third set saw eight ties and 10 lead changes as the teams battled back and forth, but the Wasps prevailed with a final score in the frame of 25-20. Emory & Henry jumped out to a 5-1 lead and never looked back as it won the fourth set, 25-15, to take the match.
E&H saw the benefits of strong serving as it notched 12 aces to just three for SU. Sophomore outside hitter Hannah Stewart (Boone, N.C.) and junior setter Maleah Neely (Hillsville, Va.) each had three aces while Neely added 37 assists and 16 digs. Senior libero Kelly Mae Kerlin (Franklin, Tenn.) registered 19 digs and had two aces as well.
Shenandoah was paced by Rachel Gross, who had 11 kills and 13 digs for the double-double while Samantha Schambach added 10 kills. Jasmine Callahan and Rachel Cerretani dished-out 21 and 20 assists, respectively, while Taylor Anderson had 17 digs despite nine receiving errors.
The Wasps return to action next weekend when they travel to Virginia Beach for an ODAC pod match. E&H will take on Virginia Wesleyan College and Randolph-Macon College. A strong performance against the Yellow Jackets and Marlins could help the Wasps earn a top-four seed in next month's ODAC Tournament.
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