Continued Growth for the Lady Eagles

IRONWOOD, MI – The Emmaus volleyball team split their matches on the final day of the Gogebic Triangular in the Michigan's beautiful Upper Peninsula.  The Lady Eagles were once again able to defeat the host Lady Samsons 3-0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-16), but fell to the Blue Knights of Dakota County Technical College 1-3 (18-25, 25-16, 12-25, 17-25).

Knowing that Gogebic would make adjustments during the rematch, Emmaus was determined to gain control and tempo early.  "We continued to play disciplined defense and we stayed in system on offense even better than last night," said Coach Pitman.  Freshman Hannah Snow came alive in the match, putting down 9 kills with a .471 hitting percentage.  Lauren Walvatne added 4 aces to the cause, and Elizabeth Brame had 2 solo and 5 assisted blocks.  

After a short break the Lady Eagles faced off with the Blue Knights, a hard hitting team with a height advantage over Emmaus.  While the Lady Eagles were able to hit some hot runs in set two, Dakota County simply out powered them throughout the rest of the match.  "This was a strong team.  We played hard and executed well on the things that we could control," said Coach Pitman.  

Savannah Petersen had an amazing performance in the match, putting down 15 kills with only 4 errors on 51 attempts.  She also had 14 service receptions and 9 digs.  "Considering Savvy was curled up on the floor with illness between matches, it was amazing for us to watch her fight hard for the team," said Coach Pitman.  Vivienne Yates added 17 digs and Hannah Bell had 21 assists.

"We learned a lot about ourselves this weekend and it was good for us to play against two NJCAA opponents as our first matches," commented Coach Pitman.  "Coach Ruter and I are very pleased with our effort and testimony and look forward to seeing more great things from the ladies this fall."

Emmaus is back in action next weekend, hosting a quad in the Pollard Fieldhouse.  The Lady Eagles take on Mount Mary (4:00 pm) and Clarke University (8:00 pm) on Friday, September 9th.  Saturday (9/10) Emmaus will rematch with Clarke at 10:00 am and then face Dayspring Bible College at 2:00 pm.