EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Volleyball Team (9-8) broke its four-match losing streak with a strong performance over West Virginia Tech (2-15) Tuesday evening at the John Rutledge King Center. The Wasps won the match 3-0 with set scores of 25-18, 25-14, 25-18 over the Golden Bears.
E&H got out to a 10-5 advantage in the first set and pressed its margin to 14-7. The Wasps continued to dominate play, leading by a score of 24-14 late in the frame. WVU Tech scored four straight points to close the gap but a kill by sophomore right side Hannah Doss (Meadowview, Va.) put the set away.
The Wasps and Golden Bears battled though the first portion of the second stanza. Down 9-8, E&H scored seven points in a row for a 15-9 advantage. WVU Tech would get no closer than 10 points the rest of the set as E&H went on to win 25-14.
In the third frame, the Golden Bears kept things close early, but the Wasps put the pressure on thanks to a three- and five-point scoring run. Emory & Henry attacked at a .500 (17-3-28) mark in the final set as it was able to cruise to the match victory, 25-18.
Doss led all players with 11 kills and added nine digs while sophomore middle Kennady Thomason (Chattanooga, Tenn.) registered 10 kills, hitting .417 for the match. Senior middle Anika Constantinescu (Surrey, British Columbia, CANADA) notched nine kills and two blocks while sophomore outside hitter Tristen Pennington (Kingsport, Tenn.) had eight kills, nine digs and two service aces. Freshman Ali Singleton (Mount Jackson, Va.) recorded a career-high six kills in the match while senior setter Maleah Neely (Hillsville, Va.) had 38 assists and sophomore libero Emily Hinshaw (Boone, N.C.) chipped in 10 digs, five assists and two aces.
West Virginia Tech was led by Jacque Carroll and Haley Pauley with eight kills each while Michala Dean had 20 assists. The Golden Bears hit .106 (12-5-27) for the match.
Emory & Henry will return to action on Thursday when it hosts Roanoke in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference match. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15