The No. 2-ranked Emory volleyball team closed out the final day of action at the Berry College Invitational on Sunday afternoon with a split of two matches.  The Eagles opened with a 3-1 setback to DePauw University (26-28, 25-19, 13-15, 22-25) before registering a 3-0 triumph over Berry (31-29, 25-14, 25-20).  Emory stands 3-1 after the first weekend of action.

Senior outside hitter Leah Jacobs (Linville, VA) came through with a huge effort in the weekend finale, banging out a career-high 27 kills, the eighth-highest individual mark in school history, with no errors in 44 attempts that translated into a .614 hitting mark.  Sophomore middle Jessica Holler (Roswell, GA) aided in the win with a dozen terminations, registering a solid .571 attack percentage (12-0—21).   Sophomore Sydney Miles (Oklahoma City, OK) distributed 46 assists while senior Kate Bowman led all players with 12 digs.  Emory hit .400 against the Vikings (53-9-110) while Berry concluded the contest with a .180 effort (38-18—111).  Looking to regroup after dropping its DePauw match, Emory faced 16-9 deficit in the first set, but scored five of the next six points, with Jacobs coming through with four terminations in that stretch, to slice its gap to three points. The teams split the next 12 points, leaving the Vikings with a 23-20 edge, but a pair of kills by Jacobs and a service by Holler knotted the score at 23-23.  The Eagles then fought off four set points and took a 28-27 lead following an ace by freshman Hannah Billings.  BC regrouped and evaded game point, and then had its fifth set point following an ace by Elizabeth Ragland that gave the home squad a 29-28 lead.  The Eagles held firm, using a pair of kills by Holler, followed by a Viking attack error to capture the first set and the momentum for the rest of the contest.

Emory hit .134 (45-24—157) against DePauw while the Tigers finished with a .114 percentage (46-27—167).  The Eagles held a slight 83-79 advantage in digs and posted a 12-9 edge in total blocks.  DePauw did manage an 11-7 margin in service aces.  Jacobs led the offensive attack with 18 terminations while Bowman totaled 10 terminations and 13 digs.  Miles was credited with 37 assists and a team-high 15 digs.  Emory held a 23-20 lead in the opening set and stood one point from clinching the game when it built a 24-22 advantage.  After DePauw recorded the next two points that tied the score, Emory claimed a 25-24 lead only to see the Tigers emerged with two consecutive points that put them up by a 26-25 margin.  Emory stayed alive and tied the score before the Tigers finally closed the set out. After knotting the match following a win in the second set, Emory never led in the third or fourth sets with DePauw bolting to a substantial 14-6 lead in the fourth game.  Emory regrouped with a 6-0 run, sparked by a pair of service aces from sophomore Shannon Nugent (Vernon Hills, IL), to drew to within two points.  The Eagles trailed by a 19-17 count before an Emory attack error followed by a kill, pushed the Tigers to a 21-17 cushion.  Emory stayed within striking distance and eventually used a 3-0 spurt, with Jacobs recording two kills, to the score at 22-22. However, DePauw came away with the next three points to capture the win.

Emory returns to action next Friday and Saturday (Sept. 5-6) when it plays at the Cal Lutheran Invitational.


2014 Berry Invitational All Tournament Team

Champion: DePauw Tigers

MVP – Faith Rolwes – DePauw

Mary Kate Etling – DePauw

Leah Jacobs – Emory

Jessica Holler – Emory

Sam Page – Lynchburg

Courtney Lowers – Randolph Macon

Gretchen Kaufman - Berry