HARRISONBURG, Va. (EMU Athletics) – A conference win…awesome. A conference win PLUS a milestone…THE BEST!

That’s exactly what happened on Tuesday, as EMU took down Hollins 3-0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-19) and, with the first kill of the night, Laney Cline picked up the 500th kill of her career.

Records: EMU 4-5, 1-1 ODAC | Hollins 2-11, 0-3 ODAC

Set One – EMU 25, Hollins 15
• EMU jumped out to a 6-1 lead to start the match, using kills from Cline, Kenley Smith, Mara Woolford and Madison Stockner, along with a Kassidy Meadows ace.
• Hollins would pull within three, 10-7, after a 4-1 run. The Royals would respond with a run of their own, 9-1, including six straight, on a strong service run from Meadows, to pull ahead 19-8. A service error ended the run, but EMU came back with a 4-0 run, picking up kills from Smith, an ace from Anna Black and a block from Cline and Stockner, to take a commanding 23-9 advantage.
• All Hollins would be able to muster would be two points, off an error and a block, before another Cline kill and a service error, gave EMU a 1-0 lead.

Set Two – EMU 25, Hollins 15
• This time it was Hollins taking an early lead, pulling ahead 5-2, 6-3 and 7-4. But after an HU service error, three aces from Woolford and a Smith kill, put EMU on top 9-7.
• HU would battle back and take a one-point lead, 11-10, before a 10-1 EMU run, highlighted by kills from Emma Greer, Sophia Denby, Cline, Woolford and Smith, along with three aces from Kaitlyn Custis and Meadows, pushed EMU to a 20-12 lead.
• EMU would finishing things out in the set, winning five of the last seven points off kills from Cline and a Black ace.

Set Three – EMU 25, Hollins 19
• EMU worked to put things away quickly in the third set when, after taking an 8-4 lead to start the set, went on a 9-2 tilt to take a commanding 17-6 lead.
• The Green and Gold weren’t going away quietly, as they went on a run of their own, 5-0, to pull within six at 17-11. They would eventually pull to within four, at 22-17, but EMU snuffed any sort of comeback out, as Denby’s kill, along with a pair of Hollins errors, secured the EMU win.

Statistical Leaders
Cline: 12 kills, 1 block
Custis: 20 assists, 3 service aces
Black: 15 digs, 2 service aces
Team: 13 service aces

What’s Next
EMU will get back to non-conference play on Saturday, when they head to Maryland for a tri-match. They’ll take on Rutgers-Camden starting at 2 pm before wrapping up the day with host, Washington College, starting at 4 pm.

— EMU Athletics —