Emmaus Opens Conference Play with Road Victories in Kansas

MANHATTAN, KS – The Lady Eagles defeated Barclay College and Manhattan Christian College in their first two Midwest Christian College Conference matches.  Emmaus was victorious 3-0 in both games.

Against the Lady Bears of Barclay, Paige Sweeney led the way on offense with 8 kills, with Lyndra Davis and Alli Howard chipping in 3 each.  Emmaus took the match with scores of 25-11, 25-7, and 25-14.

In the second match of the night, the Lady Eagles took on the Lady Thunder of Manhattan in front of a packed house as the Lady Thunder opened play in their new activity center.  Manhattan, currently tied for 7th place in the NCCAA DII National Rankings, came out ready to hit hard and worked to dominate at the net.  Emmaus responded with a strong attack of their own, and the two teams had some great sequences of play in the match.  The scores were tight for moments in all three sets, but the Lady Eagles found ways to make runs and pulled away from the Lady Thunder in each one (25-15, 25-15, 25-15).

"It has been amazing to see our team responded to pressure and see their trust in each other," commented Coach Pitman after the match.  "We talked a lot today about team play, and the ladies gave a wonderful example tonight of how a unified effort can yield a great result.  They believe in each other and we as a coaching staff believe in them."

Lyndra Davis had her biggest night of the season as she cranked out 7 kills in the right side position.  Wynne Vandersall had another 13 kill evening, and middles Paige Sweeney and Elizabeth Brame each contributed 6 to the cause.  Setter Hannah Postma had 33 assists, and Libero Savannah Petersen had 12 digs.

Emmaus improves to 8-0 on the season and 2-0 in the MCCC.  The Lady Eagles have another busy week as they continue MCCC play on Friday night vs. Ozark Christian College, then face off against Grace Bible College and Grinnell College on Saturday.  All matches will be at home in the Pollard Fieldhouse.