EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Volleyball Team (16-11, 5-4 ODAC) battled the West Virginia University Institute of Technology (20-16) through 31 ties and 11 lead changes to earn a 3-2 win on Friday. Prior to the start of play, the Wasps honored their six seniors competing in the final home match of their careers.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – Emory & Henry 3, West Virginia Tech 2 (25-22, 18-25, 17-25, 15-8)
LOCATION – Emory, Virginia – John Rutledge King Center
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (16-11, 6-4 ODAC); West Virginia Tech (20-16)
How It Happened
- E&H took a 1-0 lead in the match after the first set thanks to a six-kill performance from senior outside hitter Tristen Pennington (Kingsport, Tenn.). The frame featured 11 tied and four lead changes before the Wasps scored the final three points to win, 25-22.
- The two teams battled back and forth early in the second, but once the Golden Bears tied things up at 18-all, they went on to finish things out with an 8-0 run.
- WVU Tech built a 16-14 advantage midway through the third but took control thanks to a 7-0 run to lead 23-14. The Wasps would score three of the next four points but the Golden Bears closed it out 25-17 for a 2-1 lead in the match.
- Emory & Henry bounced back in the fourth with a .344 hitting percentage (14-3-32) en route to a 25-16 win. The Wasps went up 5-1 early, and continued to pull away to tie the match 2-2.
- The fifth and deciding set was all E&H as they scored four in a row after going two down to lead 4-2. The Wasps were the first to eight for the court change and then put up a 6-0 run to lead 13-6 as they held on for the 15-8 win to clinch the match.
Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Pennington finished the match with 14 kills and 21 digs, hitting .344 (14-3-32) for the match. Senior middle Kennady Thomason (Chattanooga, Tenn.) was errorless with 12 kills on 16 attempts for a .750 attack percentage to go along with six blocks.
- Junior outside hitter Ali Singleton (Mount Jackson, Va.) led all players with 16 kills and chipped in four blocks while sophomore middle Kate Franklin (Blountville, Tenn.) had nine kills and four blocks.
- Sophomore setter Sam McCauley (Glade Spring, Va.) put up 22 assists and added 15 digs four the double-double while junior Sarah Scott (Collinsville, Va.) had 18 assists of her own.
- Senior libero Emily Hinshaw (Boone, N.C.) posted 10 digs, eight assists and two service aces.
West Virginia Tech Individual Leaders
- Bailey Lotozo put up 14 kills and added nine digs while Keyonna Morrow had 10 kills and three blocks in the match.
- Ana Monteiro and Carolina Bologna posted nine kills each while Monteiro added 13 digs.
- Konstantina Pateli dished out 35 assists and added four aces while Michala Dean collected 21 digs and three aces of her own.
A Deeper Look
- Emory & Henry attacked at a .253 average (62-23-154), with a scorching .474 (10-1-19) in the final set.
- The Golden Bears hit .127 for the match (48-28-158).
- The Wasps had only three service aces during the match but recorded 10 blocks compared to nine aces and five blocks for the Golden Bears.
- WVU Tech edged E&H by a 71-63 margin on digs.
Up Next
- Emory & Henry will conclude the regular season on Saturday when it travels to Greensboro, North Carolina to face off against Guilford College in Old Dominion Athletic Conference action.
- First serve is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
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-photo courtesy of Taylor Jefferson