Berry to open conference play this Saturday at Birmingham-Southern
Michael Earhart, Viking Fusion Reporter
The Berry College volleyball team lost 3-1 in its match against top-ranked and undefeated Emory at home on Tuesday night.
The set scores were 18-25, 23-25, 25-21 and 21-25.
No. 17-ranked Berry entered the match with an 8-1 record after winning three of the four matches in the Washington & Lee tournament this past weekend in Virginia.
After Emory took set one, Berry took an early lead in set two but was edged out to lose in heart-breaking fashion. Berry also took a strong early lead in set three and while Emory managed to catch up, Berry took the set.
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Faced with a tough competitor, every victory was exciting.
Photo by Michael Earhart.
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In what was a high-energy match, the evening ended with Emory’s .214 hit percentage compared to Berry’s .199.
Senior No. 14 Katie O’Rourke led Berry’s offense with 11 kills and a .357 hit percentage. Senior No. 4 Emily Stromberg also had 11 kills.
Senior libero Katie Truluck led both teams with a match-best 31 digs, while senior setter Lauren Schmitz notched 41 assists.
Berry coach Mika Robinson said that Emory’s setter Sydney Miles, who led everyone with 50 assists, caused the most problems for Berry in orchestrating Emory’s offense.
‘Pack the House’ night
Berry’s match vs. Emory was promoted as a “Pack the House” event, which aims to get as many students in the seats as possible. Approximately 600 attended.
“We feed off the energy of the crowd really well, so tonight I felt really embodied that,” freshman right side hitter Micayla Bedoian said. “Overall I think we did well with the crowd being so hyped.”
The team will play against Birmingham-Southern and Millsaps this weekend. The next home match will be against Oglethorpe at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 23.