One day after pushing the ODAC's top team, the EMU volleyball women were out of gas at Shenandoah University, falling in straight sets to the Hornets.  The Royals had very early leads in each of the three sets, but ended up being no match for SU.

Eastern Mennonite had a 2-1 lead in the opener before watching the Hornets swarm to a 15-1 run.  The women responded with a sizeable run of their own, but couldn't make a big dent in the deficit, losing 25-13.

The Royals scored the first point in the second but quickly fell behind and lost, 25-6.  EMU was at their best in the third set, with an Alena Yoder (Elkhart, Ind./Bethany Christian) service ace opening up an 8-4 lead.  Shenandoah regained a 16-13 edge, before the women answered with four straight to go back in front.  The Hornets had the final say, however, closing on an 8-2 streak to win 25-20.

Shenandoah dominated net play by hitting .322, compared to just .011 for EMU.  Becca Hardy (Port Republic, Va./Eastern Mennonite) led the Royals with eight kills and Sara Ritchie (Harrisonburg, Va./Turner Ashby) added five.

Mattie Lehman (New Paris, Ind./Bethany Christian) had eight digs.  Skyler Johnson (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) was good for seven digs and two service aces.  Yoder finished with a match high three aces.

The loss leaves the Royals with a six-match losing skid as they fall to 5-11 overall and 0-3 in the ODAC.  They will try to right the ship on the road next Tuesday, playing at Randolph College in Lynchburg at 7:00pm.