EMU's volleyball women now have a three-match winning streak after they punched a pair of wins to wrap up the EMU Invitational on Saturday. The Royals are 3-1 are they prepare for their first road contests of 2016.

The women play at Mount Aloysius in Cresson, Pa., Wednesday before playing at the two-day Greensboro Invitational next weekend.

EMU 3, Catholic 1
From the opening swing against the Cardinals, the women looked like a much more confident team than the one that split their contests on Friday.

The Royals led most of set one before recovering from a late deficit to grab a 25-23 win on kills from Janna Williams (Kenbridge, Va./Kenston Forest) and Maria Yoder (Manheim, Pa./Hempfield). They held a similar lead in set two, but used a late 5-0 run to seal up a 25-17 margin.

Catholic scored the first three in the next set and kept alive with a 25-19 decision. But Eastern Mennonite methodically opened up a nine-point lead in the fourth, eventually sealing it at 25-20 on a kill from Becca Hardy (Port Republic, Va./Eastern Mennonite).

The senior, who moved from outside to middle hitter last year, racked up a career high 22 kills with just one error in 35 attempts. Hardy's previous high for kills was 17 from her freshman season.

Yoder added eight kills, while the two-setter offense of Jasmine Johnson (Staunton, Va./Robert E. Lee) (29 assists) and Erin Mays (Ridgeway, Va./Westover Christian) (21 assists) set up a balanced supporting attack.

Libero Skyler Johnson (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) racked up 21 digs and missed tying her career high by one. Sam Jacob (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) added 10 digs.

EMU 3, Mary Baldwin 1
After the big win, the Royals came out sloppy against Mary Baldwin. The Fighting Squirrels took full advantage, working out to a four-point lead in the first. EMU had the score tied at 18-18 but couldn't get over the hump and got stuffed with a 25-23 loss.

The women used a 10-2 run in the second to open up a 19-11 cushion, but Mary Baldwin made a prolonged run to flip ahead and serve for set point at 24-23. EMU fended off a handful of set points before finally notching two in a row on kills from the two seniors, Hardy and Kait Miller (Sellersville, Pa./Christopher Dock), to win 30-28.

The uneasy win seemed to turn the tide. A 6-0 run early in the third gave the Royals some breathing room in a 25-19 decision. They scored the first five in the fourth and rolled away to a 25-11 clincher.

Hardy had 12 kills while Williams put down 11. Miller added eight on just 17 swings. Jasmine Johnson had 21 assists while Mays added 17. After just missing it earlier in the day, Skyler Johnson then destroyed her career high in digs with 28.

The women also had 12 aces serves, led by four from Meredith Stinnette (Lynch Station, Va./Altavista) and three from Mays.

All-Tournament Team
Middle Becca Hardy led the way for the Royals at the EMU Invitational and was named to the All-Tournament Team following play. Including her career-best 22-kill performance against Catholic, the senior racked up 50 kills at the invite against just two errors. She averaged 3.33 kills per set with a hefty .552 attack percentage, adding nine blocks.

Hardy was joined on the team by Abby Mills of Bridgewater, Michelle Bouchard of Catholic, Sarah Weeden of Goucher, Elena Zinaich of Hood, Jen Garrett of Lynchburg, Katelyn Rice of Mary Baldwin and Mariah Sharon of Salem.

Click here to see all the photos taken by photographer Scott Eyre at the EMU Invitational.