VIRGINIA BEACH -- Virginia Wesleyan College head volleyball coach Andrea Hoover had a few words of encouragement for her Marlins following a 25-20 second set loss to Eastern Mennonite University on Friday at The Batten Center.

Whatever selection of words she used seemed to work as the Marlins responded with two decisive set wins to take the Old Dominion Athletic Conference match.  VWC won the third 25-13 and closed with a 25-7 score to wrap up a 3-1 win that included a 25-21 set one win.

Virginia Wesleyan protected its place among the ODAC leaders, improving to 5-1 in the league and to 15-5 overall.  EMU dropped to 3-13 overall and to 0-7 in the loop.

Senior Kala Guy (Fishersville/Wilson Memorial) finished the match with 13 kills, increasing her career total to 1,115.  She is four kills shy of becoming VWC's all-time leader, a position currently held by Jen Perkinson (1,118, 2003-06).

Senior Taylor Allen (Bowie, Md./Bladensburg Elizabeth Seton) led the Marlins against the Royals with 14 kills and added three block assists to improve her career total to 262 total blocks, the second highest in program history.

Guy and Taylor combined for three consecutive kills in the third set to help VWC pull away from a 3-3 tie.  It was part of a 6-0 run for the Marlins to open up a 9-3 lead.  EMU closed within two at 9-6, but VWC responded with a 8-1 run to push out to a 17-7 lead.  Three consecutive kills by Guy and Taylor made it a 24-11 late in the set.

EMU led 2-0 early in the fourth set, before an 11-2 run by the Marlins gave VWC the lead for good.  Kerry Johson (Richmond/J.R. Tucker),Torey Garin (Virginia Beach/Floyd E. Kellam), Guy and Taylor all recorded kills in the run.  

Virginia Wesleyan owned the early lead in the opening set, but EMU battled back behind Sarah Ritchie (Harrisonburg/Turner Ashby) and Mattie Lehman (New Paris, Ind./Bethany Christian) to tie the score at 6, 8, 9, and 18.  Johnson andKirstin Sessoms (Virginia Beach/Bayside) put down back-to-back kills to give the Marlins a 20-18 lead and VWC stayed a step ahead to the end.

Set two included three ties, that last at 12 all, before four straight VWC errors helped the Royals to take the lead for good. 

Ritchie led EMU with 11 kills and Karla Martin (Stuarts Draft/Grace Christian) and Lehman led the Royals with nine digs each.  Lehman also contributed with 23 assists.

Malllory Slade (Burlington, N.C./Eastern Almanance) led VWC with 22 assists and Sessoms added 16.

Virginia Wesleyan competes again on Wednesday, Oct. 10, in an ODAC match at Bridgewater College beginning at 6:30 p.m.

--AMDG--