EMORY, Va. – The Piedmont College Volleyball Team (12-10) picked up a three-set non-conference sweep over Emory & Henry College (11-9) Monday evening at the John Rutledge King Center. The contest served as the Wasps' annual Dig Pink match for breast cancer research with all donations benefitting the Side-Out Foundation.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – Piedmont 3, Emory & Henry 0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-16)
LOCATION – Emory, Virginia – John Rutledge King Center
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (11-9, 3-3 ODAC); Piedmont (12-10, 4-6 USA South)
How It Happened
- The first set was close the entire way, featuring 11 ties and four lead changes. Down by an 18-15 margin, Piedmont scored four straight to go up 19-18. The final tie came at 19-all, but another four-point run by the Lions propelled them to a 23-19 advantage and the first-set victory.
- In the second frame, the Wasps took the early advantage before a 9-1 run by PC resulted in a 16-11 score in favor of the visitors. E&H scored six of the next seven points to tie things up 17-17 and the set saw ties and 18, 19, 20, 22 and 23. Piedmont finished the set out with three straight points thanks to Emory & Henry attacking errors.
- The third stanza went back and forth early to a 4-4 tie. The Lions took control by scoring the next 11 points for a 15-4 lead. The rest of the set saw the teams trade points and side-outs until the Wasps scored three in a row late. The margin was too much to overcome, however as Piedmont clinched the match with a 25-16 win.
Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Junior outside hitter Ali Singleton (Mount Jackson, Va.) had a co-match-high 11 kills and led all players with a .429 (11-2-21) hitting percentage.
- Senior outside hitter Tristen Pennington (Kingsport, Tenn.) added nine kills and six digs while senior middle Kennady Thomason (Chattanooga, Tenn.) chipped in five kills, two blocks and four digs.
- Sophomore setter Sam McCauley (Glade Spring, Va.) had 14 assists while freshman Maggie Roark (Maryville, Tenn.) tacked on seven assists and a service ace.
- Senior libero Emily Hinshaw (Boone, N.C.) recorded 12 digs, six assists and an ace.
Piedmont Individual Leaders
- Anna Wright led the way with 11 kills on a .280 (11-4-25) attack percentage while Amanda Trotter added eight kills.
- Lainey Choiniere posted 26 assists while Haley Hixon tallied a match-high 16 digs and put up two aces.
A Deeper Look
- As a team, Piedmont hit .186 (30-14-86) for the match, while Emory & Henry managed only a 35-25-97 (.103) average.
- The Lions had seven aces and two blocks in the match while the Wasps registered two aces and three blocks.
Up Next
- Emory & Henry will step back into Old Dominion Athletic Conference play on Friday when it visits Roanoke College at 6:30 p.m.
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-photo courtesy of Joey Gass