Volleyball Rolls to Three Set Win over Wasps

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Virginia Wesleyan University volleyball team needed just over an hour to defeat Emory & Henry College in ODAC action on Friday, downing the Wasps 25-15, 25-20, 25-19.

The Marlins jumped out to early leads in the first and second set, posting team hitting marks of .324 in each game. Doneisha Hall led the way for the Marlins early, hitting over .500 in the first set.

Virginia Wesleyan led 17-11 in the first when a four-point swing extended the lead out to four. Lauren Topper started the run with a kill, followed by a pair of E&H attack errors, before an Elizabeth Britton block capped it off to put VWU up 21-11.

The Marlins led 22-15 in the second set thanks to timely hitting and good defense. VWU only allowed Emory & Henry to win back-to-back points once in the set in the build-up to the 22-15 score.

A kill by Ali Singleton won the serve back to E&H where Singleton posted the first Wasp run of the set. She served four straight points, cutting the lead to 22-19. Another Topper kill ended the run. The Marlins won the final two points of the set to claim the two-set lead.

Emory & Henry managed to keep the third set close early on, despite only leading at 1-0. VWU led 13-10 when the hosts began to put the Wasps away, scoring six of the next seven points to go up 19-11. Britton had three kills in the spurt.

The Marlins maintained their eight-point lead, a crucial margin as the Wasps made one final charge late. VWU led 22-14 when a kill by Singleton earned the serve back to E&H. Rebecca Morehouse stepped to the line and served an ace while forcing the Marlins into two errors. A kill by Sam McCauley cut the lead to just three, 22-19.

VWU sided out on the next serve as Dare Wright rejected an attack attempt. Emilee Pierson served the Marlins to victory as the Wasps committed a pair of errors.

Tori Holmberg and Singleton had 10 kills each while McCauley led Emory & Henry (5-20/2-7) with a match-high 24 assists.

Hall finished with 10 kills on a .450 hitting percentage while Britton added 10 kills of her own. Meghan Wood led the way for VWU with 17 assists as Alyssa Taylor contributed 16 digs.

Virginia Wesleyan (15-8/7-2) hosts Guilford College (11-8/4-4) Saturday at 1 p.m. for more ODAC action.