The Lady Royals showed flashes of great play Saturday, but still came up on the short end of two decisions at a home tri-match against Bridgewater and North Carolina Wesleyan.

Bridgewater 3, EMU 1
Eastern Mennonite opened the day with an ODAC match against the rival Eagles, and aggressively worked out to a 24-15 lead.  But BC did the unthinkable and scored nine straight points to fend off game point after game point.  After a kill to go back in front 25-24, the Lady Royals made three straight errors to hand the game over, 27-25.

The women faltered in game two, 25-13, before regrouping in game three.  They scored seven straight early on to grab control and then closed a 25-20 win with back-to-back kills.

Game four featured a number of ties before Bridgewater ended on a 6-1 run to win 25-18.

Despite not hitting well as team, the Lady Royals found a way to stay in the contest.  Katie Miller (San Antonio, TX/Brandeis) led the back row with 19 digs, while Mattie Lehman (New Paris, IN/Bethany Christian) added 15 pick-ups and 26 set assists.

Amber Loftin (Amherst, VA/Amherst) had nine kills and nine digs.  Rachel Kennel (Parkesburg, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) landed seven kills with only one error.  Sara Ritchie (Harrisonburg, VA/Turner Ashby) had eight kills, two service aces and a solo block.  Jessica Goertzen (Goessel, KS/Goessel) also had a pair of aces.

North Carolina Wesleyan 3, EMU 2
The women closed the day by taking on a Battling Bishop team which had just earned a five-set win over Bridgewater.  EMU looked flat in game one, however, dropping a 25-12 score.

The Lady Royals trailed 8-5 in game two, before turning the tables and closing on a 20-7 run for a 25-15 win.

Neither team led by more than two points in game three and both teams had chances to serve for game point.  But it was EMU who scored the final three to grab a 28-26 win to go up two games to one.

The Battling Bishops responded to lead most of game four en route to a 25-21 win.  Game five was another back-and-forth affair until North Carolina Wesleyan scored five in a row to break off a 6-6 tie.  EMU got no closer than three as NCW took a 15-10 win.

Miller again helped keep the women in the contest with her play in the back row, racking up 31 digs in the five games.  She also landed three ace serves.  Lehman had 43 assists, 21 digs and two aces.

Ritchie had a match high 16 kills, followed by Kennel's 14.  Karla Martin (Stuarts Draft, VA/Grace Christian) had nine kills while Lynae Fry (Pettisville, OH/Pettisville) added eight.

Goertzen had 16 digs while Martin also hit double digits with 13.

The two tough losses drop EMU to 3-12 overall as the women still look for a breakthrough victory.  They are also 0-6 in the ODAC.  Next up is a road date at Virginia Wesleyan on Friday.

Click here to see a video postgame interview with Coach Jeff Tyson.