Still recovering from the loss of middle blocker Nicole Ropp (Iowa City, Ia./Iowa Mennonite) in the first match of the season, the Eastern Mennonite women's volleyball team opened up conference play Tuesday night by hosting Virginia Wesleyan. The Marlins controlled the floor in Yoder Arena, taking a 3-0 win from EMU.

The Lady Royals led early in the first set, but the visitors regrouped and used a 6-0 run to open up a 15-6 lead and cruise to a 25-16 win.

In set two, EMU struggled to string points together and fell 25-12. The Marlins then streaked to a 14-5 lead in set three and the two teams stayed even to the finish, 25-17.

Monika Burkholder (Linville, Va./Eastern Mennonite) had seven kills in just 15 attempts. Junior Tabitha Bowman (Waynesboro, Va./Stuarts Draft) tied for the match high with eight kills to go along with eight digs.

Elisa Troyer (Harrisonburg, Va./Broadway) had six kills and six digs. Sophomore Rachel Lehman (Chambersburg, Pa./Shalom Christian Academy) was second on the team with seven digs.

The Lady Royals slip to 1-9 with the loss, including 0-1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Next up for the women is another home date with Southern Virginia on Thursday. Game time is 7:00pm.