Continuing to play without injured middle hitter Nicole Ropp (Iowa City, Ia./Iowa Mennonite), the Lady Royals found the going tough on day two of the EMU Hampton Inn & Sleep Inn Invitational. Both Mary Washington and Stevenson took wins from the women on the day, dropping them to 1-3 to start the season.

Mary Washington 3, Eastern Mennonite 1
Box Score
The Lady Royals opened with a talented squad from Mary Washington, and after dropping the first set 25-15, came back in set two. EMU built a 14-8 lead before the Eagles stormed to within one. The women regrouped and rebuilt the lead to 23-17, but had to hold on for a 25-23 win.

Mary Washington controlled the final two sets, however, taking 25-12 and 25-16 wins.

The Eagles kept EMU off-balance with 16 service aces and 10 team blocks. Tabitha Bowman (Waynesboro, Va./Stuarts Draft) had eight kills while Monika Burkholder (Linville, Va./Eastern Mennonite) added five. Elisa Troyer(Harrisonburg, Va./Broadway) had six kills and 10 digs.

Stevenson 3, Eastern Mennonite 0
Box Score
The Lady Royals started well against Stevenson, trailing just 14-13 midway through the first set. But the Mustangs closed out on an 11-3 run, winning the set and taking control of the match.

EMU couldn't regroup and dropped 25-16 and 25-12 decisions to close out the day.

Burkholder had eight kills in just 20 attempts. Bowman added eight kills and eight digs. Both players were named to the All-Tournament Team following the day's action.

After the season-opening invitational at Yoder Arena, Eastern Mennonite now plays on the road for the next week. The Lady Royals are at Shenandoah on Wednesday, Sept. 8, before a weekend tournament at Frostburg State.