EMU's volleyball women had a successful start to the new year, topping Mary Baldwin to open play at the EMU Invitational Friday afternoon.  They closed the day with a hard-fought loss to Waynesburg, falling in four sets.

EMU 3, Mary Baldwin 0
The win over the Fighting Squirrels was highlighted by a number of runs, including a 15-3 streak to land the knock-out punch in set three.  Scores were 25-18, 25-22 and 25-20.

Eastern Mennonite had an impressive nine service aces in the win, led by Katie Miller (San Antonio, Tex./Brandeis) with three.  Miller led the women with 14 digs as well.

Sophomore Kayley Argenbright (Fishersville, Va./Wilson Memorial) topped all players with ten kills.  Rachel Kennel (Parkesburg, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) and Rebecca Hardy (Port Republic, Va./Eastern Mennonite) each had five swats.  Dani Driver (Cheverly, Md./Elizabeth Seton) had 19 set assists.

Waynesburg 3, EMU 1
The Royals used a 5-0 run to nearly win game one against the Yellow Jackets.  But Waynesburg scored the final five to win 25-23.  Game two was similar, as the Jackets stole a 25-20 decision.

Eastern Mennonite exploded to a 15-3 lead in game three and held on for a 25-21 win.  But the visitors had all the momentum in game four, ending on a 21-11 run to win 25-17.

Argenbright again led the offense, hammering 13 kills.  Kayla Smeltzer (Richmond, Va./Maggie L. Walker Gov.) and McKenna Carter (Waynesboro, Va./Stuarts Draft) each added eight, while Hardy had seven.  Driver had 36 assists.

Alena Yoder (Elkhart, Ind./Bethany Christian) racked up 21 digs to go with a pair of service aces.  Smeltzer and Miller each had 17 digs, with Smeltzer easily setting her career high.

Eastern Mennonite takes their 1-1 record into day two of the EMU Invitational, getting 2-0 Howard Payne at 10:00am and 0-2 Salem at 12:00pm.