The Emory University volleyball team saw its first five-set match of the season on Friday afternoon after defeating the Colorado College Tigers 3-2 in St. Louis during the first game of the East to West Battle.

The Eagles improve to 4-0 with the win and will face Johns Hopkins and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday afternoon.
Senior Lily Martin led the way offensively for the Eagles totaling 16 kills followed by nine from fellow senior Madison Cail. Another senior with an impressive day was Deborah Hong who totaled 22 digs on the day with three service aces. Teammates Olivia Rabinowitz and Ioanna Copulos worked together to post 35 total assists on the day.

The first set started with a back and forth battle with each team scoring four points to begin the match but Emory was able to pull away and take an 9-5 lead thanks to kills from Martin and sophomore Sophia Luo. Following a kill from the Tigers, the Eagles went on an 8-2 run to hold a 17-8 advantage with senior Alana Dawson kills in the run. Colorado College was able to score six more points in the match but the momentum from the Eagles was too high to catch and Emory took set one with a score of 25-14.

Another back and forth battle began the second set of the match after the Eagles were able to tie the set at five. The Tigers followed with a 7-1 run highlighted by five kills to take a 12-6 lead in the middle of the set. The remainder of the set continued with each team scoring points but Colorado College was able to take the advantage and take set two 25-20.
The Tigers ran with their momentum in the third set taking an early 10-4 lead while taking advantage of three service aces. Emory was able to response with two points but Colorado College continued to hold the advantage towards the end of the set. After three back to back points from Emory, the Tigers finished set three with a 6-2 run to take the third set with a score of 25-14.

Emory was not going down without a fight heading into the fourth set of the match opening the set with a 6-1 lead highlighted by four kills from Martin. The next few points went back and forth before the Eagles were able to widen their lead with three back to back points to take a 16-12 advantage. After Emory secured another point on a service error, the Tigers came back to tie the match at 17 a piece before later tying the set again at 21. Emory was able to pull away with the lead and take set four with a 25-23 line to force a fifth set.

Colorado College jumped first in the fifth set but the Eagles posted four points to tie the match followed by four straight points from the Tigers. After scoring two more points, the Tigers held a 10-5 lead but the Eagles followed with 10 straight points to take the match.

The East to West Battle will continue tomorrow with the Eagles facing Johns Hopkins at 11:30 am EST and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 5:30 pm EST.