LYNCHBURG, Va. – The #3 Lynchburg College Volleyball Team (19-9, 8-3 ODAC) advanced to the semifinals of the 2016 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament Wednesday evening with a 3-1 win over sixth-seeded Emory & Henry College (16-13, 6-4 ODAC).
Senior outside hitter Tristen Pennington (Kingsport, Tenn.) reached the 1,000 kill mark for her career during the third set, becoming the first player in E&H history to get to 1,000 kills, the fifth player to get to 1,000 digs and the first to achieve both milestones.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – #3 Lynchburg 3, #6 Emory & Henry 1 (19-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-20)
LOCATION – Lynchburg, Virginia – John M. Turner Gymnasium
RECORDS – #6 Emory & Henry (16-13, 6-5 ODAC); #3 Lynchburg (19-9, 8-3 ODAC)
How It Happened
- E&H took a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-19 win in the opening set. Junior outside hitter Ali Singleton (Mount Jackson, Va.) had four kills and a block while sophomore outside Tori Holmberg (Wake Forest, N.C.) tallied three kills and a trio of blocks.
- Lynchburg stormed back into the match, tying things at 1-1 with a 25-17 victory. The Hornets attacked at a .310 (12-3-29) clip during the set as Mesa Willis and Jennifer Garrett each had three kills.
- LC took a 2-1 lead in the match after the third, battling through six ties and two lead changes. Garrett added eight kills in the frame for the Hornets while Pennington tacked on four kills for E&H, the third of which broke through the 1,000 barrier for her career. Down 21-15, the Wasps closed the gap to 24-23 with an 8-3 run but the Hornets closed it out for the win.
- The fourth set also featured six ties and a pair of lead changes as the teams went back and forth to a 13-all tie. Three straight by Lynchburg put a gap in the margin but Emory & Henry closed things to two at 22-20. The Hornets scored the final three points of the stanza to claim the 25-20 win and advance in the postseason. Singleton had five kills in the final set for the Wasps while Garrett finished strong for the Hornets, amassing seven kills in the set alone.
Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Singleton led the Wasps with 14 kills on a .379 (14-3-29) and added three blocks.
- Pennington posted a total of 10 kills and added a team-high 16 digs to complete the double-double.
- Holmberg had nine kills and eight blocks while senior middle Kennady Thomason (Chattanooga, Tenn.) had six kills and nine blocks.
- Sophomore middle Kate Franklin (Blountville, Tenn.) tacked on six kills and senior right-side hitter Hannah Doss (Meadowview, Va.) notched four kills.
- Sophomore setter Sam McCauley (Glade Spring, Va.) dished out 21 assists and had eight digs while junior Sarah Scott (Collinsville, Va.) added 10 digs.
- Senior libero Emily Hinshaw (Boone, N.C.) posted 16 digs, five assists and three aces.
Lynchburg Individual Leaders
- Garrett finished the match with 25 kills on a .375 (25-4-56) hitting percentage and added nine digs while Willis put up 11 kills of her own.
- Lynn Walsh guided the offense with 32 assists and completed her double-double with 11 digs.
- Lisa Haugsdahl led all players with four aces to go along with three kills while Lauren Standford put up a match-high 17 digs.
A Deeper Look
- Emory & Henry attacked at a .242 average (49-17-132), opening the match with a blistering .412 (15-1-34) in the first set.
- Lynchburg managed a 53-19-143 (.238) hitting effort, reaching the .200 mark in all four sets of competition.
- The Wasps finished the match with 12 blocks and five aces while the Hornets had just four blocks to go along with five aces.
- LC edged E&H on digs by a 58-57 margin.
Up Next
- With the conclusion of the season, Emory & Henry will now await the release of the All-ODAC Teams which will be announced following the conference tournament.
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-photo courtesy of Joey Gass