Emory Volleyball Comes Out On Short End Of Five-Set Battle To Lee University

The Emory volleyball battled and clawed over five sets against Lee University Monday evening before falling to the Flames in five sets.  The Eagles saw their record slip to 4-1 following a 25-21, 17-25, 25-23, 14-25, 13-15 setback to Lee who saw its record improved to 6-3.

Emory concluded the evening hitting .221 (54-22—145) compared to the host Flames' effort of .296 (62-20—142).  Lee held a slight 61-55 edge in the digs category and posted a 7-5 advantage in total blocks.  The Eagles dished out six service aces compared to the opposition's total of 12.

Senior Breanah Bourque led a trio of Emory players who compiled double-digit kills with 14 while posting a .385 attack percentage (14-4—26).  Senior Alex Duhl pounded out 11successful attacks while sophomore Kate Bowman tallied 10 terminations.  Freshman Sydney Miles doled out 43 assists and contributed six kills while freshman Taylor Erwin topped the squad with 14 digs.

Lee's Marija Zelenovic set the pace for all players with 19 kills with Irene Ojukwu adding 17 successful put-aways along with nine digs.

In the decisive fifth set, a Duhl kill knotted the score at 4-4. Lee then responded with a key 5-1 charge, with Duhl accounting for the lone Emory point in that stretch, to bolt out to a 9-5 advantage.  The Eagles responded in strong fashion with a 4-1 charge of their own with Bowman and Bourque picking up attacks and Bourque adding a block assist, to creep to within a 9-10 count.  The Flames appeared to have things in hand when they countered with a 4-1 spurt that put them ahead by a 14-10 margin.  A termination by sophomore Cami Silverman, followed by back-to-back hitting miscues by the home team, enabled Emory to draw to within one point at 13-14.  However, after a long rally, Zelenovic finally sealed the game for Lee.

Emory posted a classy .345 attack percentage (14-4—29) and used four kills from sophomore Cami Silverman, along with three terminations from both Bourque and sophomore Hannah Everett, in taking the first set.  After Lee tied the affair in the following game, the Eagles snatched a dramatic win in the third set, using a 7-2 run at one point to claim a 16-9 lead, only to see Lee answer with a 13-4 run that gave it a 22-20 edge.  To Emory's credit, it regrouped and closed out the set on a 5-1 blitz with Bowman picking up a pair of kills in that stretch including the deciding point of the set.

The Eagles, ranked No. 4 nationally in the Division III ranks, make their home debut this Friday and Saturday (Sept. 7-8) when they host the Emory Classic.