In an early-season match that had the atmosphere of the postseason, No. 5-ranked Wittenberg University topped No. 2-ranked Emory University before a boisterous crowd on the Wittenberg campus.  The Tigers captured their season opener with a 26-24, 20-25, 25-23, 25-17 decision over the Eagles who slipped to 1-1.

Thanks to a solid defensive effort, Wittenberg held Emory to just a .085 hitting percentage (43-27—188) for the match while finishing a .226 effort (56-18—168) in that department.  The Tigers were credited with a 94-79 advantage in the digs and held a decisive 11-1 cushion in total blocks.

Junior Breanah Bourque paced Emory with 15 kills along with a .306 attack percentage (15-4—36).  Bourque was the lone Eagle to finish in double digits in terminations with senior Amelia McCall and junior Alena Ransom contributing eight and seven, respectively.  Sophomore Molly Landers was one of five Emory players to post double figures in digs, registering a team-best 20.  Senior setter Natalie Schonefeld totaled 27 assists and registered 11 digs.

With the teams splitting the first two sets, the third game was a hotly contested tug-of-war.  The Tigers took a lead that it would never relinquish at 8-7 and eventually built a 15-11 bulge before three straight Emory points drew it to within 15-14. Wittenberg then regained some breathing room when a 4-1 run enabled it post a 19-15 lead.  After each team picked up a point, the Eagles rallied three unanswered points, two coming on service aces by sophomore Sarah Taub, to creep to within 20-19.  The Eagles eventually knotted the set at 21-21 following a kill by McCall, and the score remained deadlocked at 22-22 before two points by the home squad pushed its advantage to 24-22.  After a Wittenberg service error kept Emory's hopes alive, the Tigers' Kimmie Dyer finished out the game with one of her team-high 15 kills. 

Emory fell behind by a 10-6 count early in the fourth set but did tie things up at 12-12 following a kill by Schonefeld.  The Tigers then went on a key 6-1 streak, pushing their advantage to 18-13.  After a kill by Borque stemmed WU's momentum, the Tigers inched closer to the match after a pair of attack errors by Emory extended their lead to 20-14.  Emory countered with two straight points, but Wittenberg closed the match out with a 5-1 run.

Emory has a pair of Saturday matches at the Wittenberg Invitational, taking on Hanover College at 2:00 p.m. and No. 6-ranked Juniata College at 6:00 p.m.