The Eastern Mennonite University women's volleyball team travelled to Ohio for the first time in a number of years on Friday, playing at the 19th Annual Marcia French Memorial Invitational. The Royals could not pick up a victory on day one of the invite, however, and will look for a "W" on Saturday at the event, which is co-hosted by Case Western Reserve University and Baldwin Wallace University.

EMU (2-5) gets Mount Union at 11:00am on the second day before wrapping up with Baldwin Wallace on their home court in Berea, Ohio.

Case Western Reserve 3, EMU 0
The women had a mistaken-laden first match, getting swept by site host CWRU. The first two matches went quickly in 25-8 and 25-17 losses.

Maria Yoder (Manheim, Pa./Hempfield) rattled off six ace serves and pushed Eastern Mennonite to a 9-1 lead in the third. Nevertheless, attack errors caught up with the women, handing the Spartans their own 9-1 streak to tie the score at 10-10. Case Western Reserve led by as many as four before the Royals eventually re-tied things at 23-23. The home team scored two quick points, however, to close out a 25-23 final.

Yoder was the clear-cut leader for the women, finishing with five kills, two solo blocks and eight of the team's nine aces. Fellow middle Beck Hoskins (Danville, Va./Westover Christian Academy) added three kills without an error.

Ginny Sorrell (Spotsylvania, Va./Spotsylvania) had nine digs and Skyler Johnson (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) picked up eight.

Anna Jaskoviak led CWRU had seven kills and eight digs, while Karley King also had seven kills.

Hiram 3, EMU 1
After a short break, the women had a great battle with Hiram. Set one featured eight ties and four lead changes, with the Terriers scoring the final five points to grab a 25-20 decision.

In the second, good serving again gave the women a lead, this time with Jasmine Johnson (Staunton, Va./Robert E. Lee) dropping in four aces for a 5-0 start. Hiram surged back to a 9-7 edge and led by as many as three before the Royals locked up a 17-17 tie. The Terriers kept the momentum, however, winning 25-21.

After falling in a three-point hole in the third, EMU unleashed a 10-3 run to jump ahead 13-9. The women had the lead up to five at 18-13 before Hiram used a 7-2 spurt to lock up the score at 20-20. The Royals put up two quick points but HC scored four straight to flip in front, 24-22. The women then fended off a pair of match points as part of a 4-0 streak to stay alive with a 26-24 win.

The fourth set was close until Hiram struck a 12-0 run to gain a 23-10 margin. The Royals survived six match points before eventually falling, 25-17.

EMU hit better in the nightcap but still struggled with unforced errors. Yoder had a team high eight kills with a pair of blocks. Hoskins put down seven kills with three blocks, and Meredith Stinnette (Lynch Station, Va./Altavista) added six kills. Jasmine Johnson had 15 set assists and five aces while Kate Kauffman (Pettisville, Ohio/Pettisville) had 10 assists in two sets.

Sorrell led a balanced rack row effort with 11 digs.

Kayla Cole led Hiram with 14 kills and 15 digs.