Injured Lady Eagles Win First Home Match

DUBUQUE, IA – The Lady Eagles won their first home match of the season against Mount Mary University, defeating the Blue Angels 3-1.

Emmaus was forced to shuffle rotations yet again due to injuries, but made the adjustments nicely.  Alli Howard put down 7 kills in her season debut.  Howard is still recovering from an injury but was forced to jump right into the lineup as Rachel West is currently day-to-day with a sprained ankle.   Elizabeth Brame added 6 kills, Vivienne Yates had 18 digs and Hannah Bell dished up 22 assists.

Set one was a tight affair as the teams matched point for point, with Emmaus pulling away at the end to take the set 25-20.  The Blue Angels responded with consistent play in the second set, handing the Lady Eagles a 16-25 loss.  Emmaus made another rotation adjustment in set three, and secured a 25-21 victory.  Set four brought further adjustments and resulted in a 25-14 victory to seal the match.

"I was proud of how we responded as a team after the second set," said Coach Pitman.  "Our defense and passing stepped up and as a result our offense was able to generate some good strong numbers."  Emmaus hit .170 for the match.

The second game of the night was an exhibition match against the JV team from Clarke University.  The Lady Eagles started strong but ran into tired feet and lapses in mental toughness as the night went on.  The Lady Crusaders were able to sweep the match in three sets.

Emmaus will rematch with Clarke tomorrow morning in another exhibition game, followed by a regular season match with Dayspring Bible College.  Match times are 10:00 and 2:00 in the Pollard Fieldhouse.