The Emory University volleyball team opened its participation at the East-West Battle Friday afternoon with a loss to No. 1-ranked Trinity University.  The Tigers raised their record to 4-1 following a 3-0 decision (25-17, 25-19, 25-15) over the No. 2 Eagles who suffered their first setback in six outings.

Emory was never able to get its offense untracked, ending the contest hitting -.031 (25-28—96) compared to Trinity's effort of .244 (37-15—90).  The Tigers finished with a 38-29 edge in digs while showing a 9.5-7 margin in total blocks.

Trinity jumped out of the gate in the opening set, accounting for nine of the match's first 10 points.  Trailing by an 18-6 count, the Eagles staged a 6-0 rally, keyed by a pair of kills and a service ace by Carly Wallace, to draw to within six points.  However, the Tigers went of a 4-1 spurt to boost its advantage back to nine points at 22-13.

In the second game, Emory faced a 16-10 deficit but clawed back to within an 18-15 score.  Following three straight points by the Tigers, the Eagles countered with a pair leaving the score at 21-17 in Trinity's favor.  After an exchange of points, Trinity tallied three of the next four points, with senior Roisin O'Dowd registering the Eagles' score in that stretch with a kill, to claim the set and move to a 2-0 lead in the match.

Trinity took a 6-2 lead early in the third set before kills by O'Dowd and senior Tara Martin highlighted a 4-0 Emory run that knotted the score.  Later, three straight Eagle points cut a four-point gap to one, however, the Tigers finished the game and the match off with a flourish, rattling off nine unanswered points.

Freshman Alana Dawson led Emory with 10 kills and turned in a fine .600 hitting percentage (10-1—15).  Junior setter Cassie Srb registered 18 assists while O'Dowd topped the squad with three block solos.

Emory continues play in the East-West Battle on Friday evening when it battles Saint Benedict in a scheduled 6:45 pm (EDT) start.