HARRISONBURG, Va. – The EMU women's volleyball team was back at Yoder Arena on Saturday, this time for a double header. The Royals took down Shenandoah, 3-0, to start ODAC play before falling to Gallaudet, 2-3, in a five-set thriller. 

Highlights vs Shenandoah 

• The Royals never trailed in the first set against the Hornets. After a back and forth start, with EMU leading 10-8, Eastern Mennonite went on a 7-0 run, highlighted by two kills from Paris Hutchinson, an ace from Lizzy Kirkton and a block from Sarah East and Andrea Troyer. SU was able to climb back a bit, but with EMU ahead 23-14, the Royals sandwiched a Shenandoah point with kills from Heather Phelps and Kirkton to take a 1-0 lead.
• Shenandoah jumped out in front in set two, leading 11-3 before EMU went on a 10-4 run to make it 14-15. SU continued to lead for the next few points, pulling ahead 20-17, but the Royals responded with two kills by Kirkton and a block from Kirkton and Troyer to take a 21-20 lead. The Hornets had a rally of their own and was serving for the set at 24-21. But the Royals answered once again, this time ending the set on a 5-0 run to take a 2-0 lead.
• With the Royals leading set three, 10-7, they then went on an 11-2 run to take a commanding 21-9 lead. They would only allow Shenandoah two more points as they took the third set, 25-12, and picked up a big win to start ODAC play.
• Hutchinson led all scorers with 17 kills and hit a stellar .484 from the field. Kirkton was also in double figures with 10 kills to go along with four aces. Megan Miller was clutch, finishing with 32 assists. 

By the Numbers 

• .308 – The Royals hit a blistering .386 against Shenandoah while holding the Hornets to a hitting percentage of just .078, including -.042 in the third set.
• 20+ - Miller has at least 20 assists in all six of the Royals matches this season.
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Highlights vs Gallaudet 

• Much like the first set against Shenandoah, EMU never trailed in the first set against Gallaudet. They jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead, forcing a Bison timeout. Gallaudet was able to climb back in, pulling within one late in the set, at 17-18 and eventually tying the set at 20 and 22. But the Royals finished with a 3-0 run, taking advantage of two Bison errors and a block from Phelps and Sarah East, to win 25-22.
• EMU trailed for much of the second set, falling behind early and trailing as late as 15-19 and 21-23. But, down by two, kills by East, Hutchinson and Phelps, along with an Aby Kaufman ace, gave the Royals a 2-0 lead.
• Neither team could pull ahead in the third set, as there were multiple ties and lead changes throughout. The Royals had two chances to serve for the match, at 24-23 and 26-25, but couldn't end it and the Bison capitalized, picking up a 28-26 set three win.
• Set four went into extras as well, with EMU once again falling after an attack error and a Gallaudet ace.
• The Royals fell behind early in the final frame, having to rally multiple times to avoid a blowout. Trailing 10-5, EMU went on an 8-3 run to tie things at 13 before Gallaudet scored the final two points to pick up a three-hour, five-set victory.
• Hutchinson and Kirkton once again led the way for EMU, finishing with a game-high 22 kills apiece. Miller had a double-double, picking up 54 assists and 27 digs. 

By the Numbers 

• 10 – A telling number for the Royals, they had 17 receiving errors against Bison serves, while Gallaudet only had seven.
• .195 – After the hot match EMU had against Shenandoah, the Royals dropped 195 points in hitting percentage, hitting just .191 against the Bison. 

What's Next 

EMU will wrap up it's initial homestand on Tuesday with a 6:30 matchup against Christopher Newport.

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