Emmaus Sweeps in Test of Endurance

JOPLIN, MO – The Lady Eagles made the long trek to Joplin, MO to take on NCCAA opponent Bible Baptist College and MCCC opponent Ozark Christian College in a back-to- back doubleheader. Traveling without Coach Pitman, and putting out their smallest lineup of the season (8 players), Emmaus knew they would be tested mentally, emotionally, and physically.

The first match of the evening was a tight affair between two even teams. After controlling the end of set one to pull away with a 25-18 victory, the Lady Eagles found themselves in a hole as Baptist Bible College took the next two sets by scores of 20-25 each. Set four was a mirror of the first set with a 25- 18 score, and Emmaus found themselves in their first deciding set of the season. It went down to the wire, but the Lady Eagles prevailed with a 15-12 victory. "We fought all five sets to pull off an exciting, nail-biter win," said Coach Ruter after the match.

A short 30 minutes later Emmaus took their tired legs to the court against Ozark. The Lady Eagles started strong in set one (25-17), but were unable to close in set two as the Lady Ambassadors rallied from behind for a 26-28 victory. Emmaus got a balanced offensive effort in the rest of the match to take the final two sets. "The ladies showed heart and determination and stuck together as a team, and I think that's what gave us the victory tonight," commented Coach Ruter.

Emmaus improves to 11-4 on the season and 5-2 in the MCCC with the victories. The Lady Eagles travel to Kansas City, MO today to take on a tough Calvary University team in their final match of the regular season. The results of this matchup and the Ozark/Faith game today will determine the final seeding for the MCCC tournament next weekend.