GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Emory & Henry College Volleyball Team (16-11, 5-5 ODAC) solidified a spot in the 2014 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament with a 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 25-15, 25-21) win over Guilford College (6-16, 2-7 ODAC) Thursday afternoon at Ragan-Brown Field House. The Wasps also snapped a three-match losing skid with the victory.
The Wasps got out to a 6-2 advantage in the first set but the Quakers came back to take a 12-10 lead. The two squads went back and forth during the middle of the set and found themselves knotted at 20 points apiece. Emory & Henry then scored five of the next seven points to win the first frame, 25-22.
Guilford took advantage early in the second set, going up 11-2. The Quakers would lead by as much as 10 (16-6) in the stanza before the Wasps attempted to power back in late with five straight points. The deficit was too much to overcome as GC took a 25-20 win.
Emory & Henry put the pressure on in the third frame, going up 11-3 early and never looking back. The Wasps tallied the final four points win in a rout, 25-15, and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
In the fourth set, E&H started off up 3-0, but GC went on a run to take a 10-7 lead. A five point scoring run by the Wasps midway through the stanza gave them a 15-12 lead and propelled them to a 21-16 lead late. Guilford attempted to claw back into the set, but Emory & Henry sealed the match with a service ace by sophomore libero Emily Hinshaw (Boone N.C.), winning 25-21.
The Wasps were led by sophomore outside hitter Tristen Pennington (Kingsport, Tenn.) as she notched 11 kills, 10 digs and six service aces. Freshman outside hitter Ali Singleton (Mount Jackson, Va.) added 11 kills of her own while sophomore middle Kennady Thomason (Chattanooga, Tenn.) registered 10 kills. Sophomore right side hitter Hannah Doss (Meadowview, Va.) and senior middle Anika Constantinescu (Surrey, British Columbia, CANADA) had nine and eight kills, respectively. Senior setter Maleah Neely (Hillsville, Va.) dished out 38 assists and four aces while Hinshaw ended the match with 11 digs.
Guilford's Taylor Creed had a match-high 12 kills and added three blocks despite the loss. Casey Davis managed 10 kills and three aces while Maile Munro notched 31 assists and 11 digs. Steffi Dutton led all players with 12 digs in the contest.
The Wasps will be back in action on Wednesday when they host the Royals of Eastern Mennonite University. The match will serve as Senior Night for E&H and is set to start at 7:00 p.m.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15