Lady Eagles Drop Close Match with Ellsworth

IOWA FALLS, IA – Emmaus found themselves in a tight match against the hard hitting Lady Panthers of Ellsworth Community College on Tuesday night.  Although the Lady Eagles were able to keep the scores close, they fell in straight sets (23-25, 19-25, 21-25).

In their second match of the season against an NJCAA opponent, this time a Division II team, the Emmaus squad was determined to improve their game flow and do their best to put up a fight.  Ellsworth established a strong outside attack and big block early in the match, and the Lady Eagles struggled with defensive and serving consistency, which had them playing catch up in the first two sets.  Although they were able to make some late runs, the Lady Panthers offense would not be stifled and Emmaus was unable to gain victory.  In set three, Emmaus came out on fire, and a large serving run put them ahead with a 6 point cushion.  But once Ellsworth found their footing the momentum of the match again shifted, and the Lady Panthers completed the sweep.

"Another great learning opportunity for us this evening," commented Coach Pitman.  "The state of Iowa has some strong junior college volleyball teams, and I welcome any chance we have to compete against scholarship athletes.  Though we had flashes of great play tonight, we are learning that consistency is the way to success in the long run.  We have a group of ladies who are willing to work hard to learn and improve, and we are looking forward to continued growth."

Emmaus takes the court again this Friday for their first home match of the season, a rematch with NAIA Silver Lake College (Manitowoc, WI).  Match time is 7:00 pm in the Pollard Fieldhouse.  Visit theEmmaus Volleyball Website or the Emmaus Athletics Facebook page for live stream info and updates.