STAUNTON, Va. (EMU Athletics) – The EMU Volleyball team took a brief hiatus from conference play Thursday night, to head south for a matchup against Mary Baldwin.
The rematch between these two teams was just as competitive as the first, as MBU took the first two sets before the Royals roared back to win the next three, reverse sweeping the Fighting Squirrels 3-2 (21-25, 26-28, 25-13, 25-16 15-6).
Records: EMU 6-11, 2-5 ODAC | Mary Baldwin 1-17, 0-7 USA South
Highlights
• EMU led 5-3 early in the opening set, using kills from Haley Atkins and Logan Turchetta to pull ahead. MBU then went on a 5-0 run to take a lead, and would never relinquish it as they outscored EMU 17-16 for the remainder of the set. Ella Lambert notched three kills while Lindsay Bly and Alyssa Carr had two apiece.
• The Royals would jump out to another lead in the second set, leading 12-7 after three more kills from Turchetta and an Emma Rogers service ace. After a pair of MBU points, EMU went on a 7-1 run to extend their lead to 19-10 and force a Mary Baldwin timeout. Out of the break, the Fighting Squirrels went on a tear, winning five straight. EMU was able to get to set point, 24-19, after a kill and a block from Atkins, but MBU rallied with a 6-0 tilt to force extra points. In extras, EMU added kills from Turchetta and Emma Greer, but MBU used back-to-back Royals errors to take a 2-0 lead.
• The third set was all EMU as they forced the Fighting Squirrels to burn both timeouts early, leading 14-5 after 19 points, highlighted by two kills apiece from Lambert and Turchetta, as well as aces from Emerson Moats and Cristina Colon. Two points later, after the teams traded points, Rebekah Allen came in and put on a serving clinic, helping EMU win eight straight points. Mary Baldwin was able to go on a 6-1 run to pull within 11, but EMU finished things off with a Lambert kill.
• Mary Baldwin took a 6-3 lead to open the fourth, but EMU continued to play with confidence, opening up a lead with a 9-2 run behind two kills from Greer. MBU was able to pull within two, 13-11, but the Royals surged ahead with a 10-2 run, using two kills from Carr and a great service set from Mackenzie McCormick. MBU won three of the next four points to pull within eight, but a service error tied the match at two, and forced a fifth and final frame.
• A 3-1 start to the fifth from MBU forced an EMU timeout to regroup. After the break, two errors, an Atkins kill and a McCormick ace put EMU ahead 5-3, as MBU called timeout. The Royals kept their foot on the gas after the timeout, winning the next five, highlighted by two McCormick aces and a Lambert kill, for a 10-3 lead. The Fighting Squirrels only managed three more points, as EMU finished the comeback with two more kills from Greer, including the match-clinching point.
Statistical Leaders
Kills: Lambert (12 – career high), Turchetta (11)
Assists: Ekaterina Smagily (20), Colon (16)
Digs: Moats (16), Smagily (11)
Aces: Colon, Moats and McCormick (4), Team (15)
What’s Next
EMU is back in action on Saturday for a pair of non-conference home matches. They’ll take on Mary Washington and 11:00 am before finishing the day with Regent at 3:00 pm.
— EMU Athletics —
