The Royals exploded on a match-ending 20-3 run to put the exclamation point on a sweep of visiting Randolph College Tuesday night.  It was the first Old Dominion Athletic Conference win of the season for EMU, aided by a surprisingly raucous crowd in Yoder Arena.

Eastern Mennonite improves to 6-6 on the year, including 1-2 in the ODAC.  The win shows a budding confidence within a rebuilding program which has seen just two double-digit win seasons since 2003.

In the first, the women used an 11-2 run to turn a 10-9 deficit into a 20-12 lead.  When leading hitter Skyler Johnson (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) went down with an injury, Randolph grabbed a little momentum to get within three points at 23-20.  The Royals had enough left in their tank, however, to pull out a 25-21 decision.

With the score tied 6-6 in the second, the home scored three straight to swing things in their favor.  The Royals slowly added to that cushion, leading by as many as eight points before the 25-18 final.

Randolph came out a different team in the third, using a 5-0 run to jump ahead 5-1.  The opponents traded tallies to 9-5 before the WildCats slashed for seven straight points and a commanding 16-5 lead.  EMU responded with four straight to stem the tide, and then uncorked a 10-0 run to vault to a 19-17 edge and send the home fans into a frenzy.

A service error ended the streak but not the flow, as everything went the Royals' way.  Alexa Weeks (Montross, Va./Washington & Lee) finally landed the match-winner, and her kill capped the improbable 20-3 run to close out a 25-19 win.

The Royals hit a solid .128 as a team, but really threw off Randolph's efforts with nine service aces and seven blocks.  Maria Yoder (Manheim, Pa./Hempfield) had a team high four blocks, while Weeks, Becca Hardy (Port Republic, Va./Eastern Mennonite) and Kait Miller (Sellersville, Pa./Christopher Dock) each added three.  Jasmine Johnson (Staunton, Va./Robert E. Lee) dropped in five aces, including two during the decisive 10-0 run in the third.  She also had 27 set assists.

Janna Williams (Kenbridge, Va./Kenston Forest) led all players with 11 kills, while Weeks put down seven.

Katie Miller (San Antonio, Tex./Brandeis) picked up 18 digs from the back row, and Jasmine Johnson added 13.

Alex Mariona led Randolph with eight kills, while Noelle Wojciechowski had five kills and seven blocks.

After going 3-2 on their eight-day home stand, Eastern Mennonite heads south for a tri-match at Emory & Henry on Saturday.  The Royals start the day with the ODAC contest against the Wasps at 11:00am, followed by West Virginia Tech at 1:00pm.

Coach Carrie Bert said the home crowd gave her team a big advantage, especially in the late comeback: