EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Volleyball Team (7-4, 1-0 ODAC) earned its seventh win in eight attempts Wednesday evening with a convincing 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-16) win over visiting Randolph College (2-8, 0-1 ODAC). The match, which was the home opener for the Wasps, also served as the start of Old Dominion Athletic Conference play for both squads
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – Emory & Henry 3, Randolph 0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-16)
LOCATION – Emory, Va. – John Rutledge King Center
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (7-4, 1-0 ODAC); Randolph (2-8, 0-1 ODAC)
How It Happened
- With the first set tied at seven, E&H scored five of the next six points to go up 12-8 and force a timeout. The Wasps held on their lead, going up by as much as six on the way to a 25-20 win.
- The two squads kept it close in the early stages of the second frame. Up 13-12, Emory & Henry scored seven straight including three-straight aces by freshman setter Abigail Smiley (Abingdon, Va.) to lead 20-12. Three kills in the final six points of the set by senior outside hitter Tristen Pennington (Kingsport, Tenn.) gave the Wasps a 2-0 lead in the match.
- A back-and-forth battle to a 10-all score with eight ties and two lead changes set the stage for the third stanza. Emory & Henry then went up by a 16-11 score and put the pressure on, scoring eight of the last 10 to seal the victory.
Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Senior right-side hitter Hannah Doss (Meadowview, Va.) went 8-0-13 (.615) to lead E&H while freshman middle Sydney McKinney (Big Stone Gap, Va.) was close behind with six kills on eight attempts (.750). Doss registered eight digs and McKinney added two blocks in the match.
- Pennington and senior middle Kennady Thomason (Chattanooga, Tenn.) both had seven kills with Thomason adding a block and an ace.
- Sophomore outside hitter Tori Holmberg (Wake Forest, N.C.) chipped in six kills.
- Sophomore setter Sam McCauley (Glade Spring, Va.) had a match-high 23 assists while Smiley tacked on 12 assists and four aces.
- Senior libero Emily Hinshaw (Boone, N.C.) led the team with nine digs and added three aces.
Randolph Individual Leaders
- Autumn Troxell posted a match-high nine kills while Shelby Bergum had six kills on a .857 (6-0-7) attack percentage and three blocks.
- Brooks Gillerlain dished-out 20 assists and added six digs while Sam Verhaagen tallied 10 digs and a service ace.
A Deeper Look
- Emory & Henry attacked at a .341 average (40-12-82) for the match, eclipsing the .300 mark in all three sets. Randolph's offense struggled in the first and third sets managing just a .136 (26-15-81) hitting percentage.
- The Wasps continued to do well on the serve, leading 10-2 on aces. The two squads tied, 4-4, on blocks in the contest.
- E&H distributed the ball well on offense with five hitters taking 12 or more swings, but no player with more than 16 attempts.
Up Next
- Emory & Henry will return to Greensboro, North Carolina on Saturday for a pair of ODAC matches on the Guilford College campus. The Wasps will face off against Virginia Wesleyan College and Randolph-Macon College in the ODAC Quad.
- First serve against VWC is set for 11:00 a.m., while the match against R-MC is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
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-photo courtesy of Joey Gass