EMU's volleyball women gave a good effort against a talented team Tuesday night, eventually dropping a 3-0 decision to visiting Southern Virginia University.

Finally emerging from a tough stretch in their schedule, the Royals (3-14) will look to break their eight-match losing streak this weekend in a tri-match at Goucher College in Baltimore, Md. Along with the host Gophers, EMU will also play Lehman, starting at 2:00pm.

Despite missing a handful of regulars against Southern Virginia (10-4), the Royals traded early runs and were tied at 14-14. The Knights earned a slight margin, however, and then scored the final three points to win, 25-20.

A couple of short runs gave Southern Virginia a 24-15 cushion in the second. The Royals did not go down quietly, rattling off five straight points before a final kill gave SVU another 25-20 score.

An early run in the third took the steam out of EMU, as the Knight closed the night, 25-16.

Hannah Johnson (Staunton, Va./Wilson Memorial) had six kills and two aces for the women, while middle Maria Yoder (Manheim, Pa./Hempfield) put down five kills. Abby Sherman (Bremo Bluff, Va./Fluvanna County) added four kills and three blocks. Setters Carly Gingerich (Goshen, Ind./Goshen) and Lexi Lam (Ruckersville, Va./William Monroe) had ten and eight assists, respectively.

Tarynn Clark (Goshen, Ind./Bethany Christian) got the start as EMU's libero, and led both teams with 16 digs.

Hailey Lohnes topped Southern Virginia with 11 kills and 15 digs.