The No. 12 ranked Emory University volleyball team rallied to defeat Randolph-Macon College in five-sets Saturday afternoon to complete the 2-0 weekend at the R-MC Invitational in Ashland, VA.
Down 2-1 in sets, the Eagles came-from-behind to beat the host Yellow Jackets 13-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-21, 15-13 for the team's sixth consecutive victory. With the win, Emory improved to 19-3 overall while Randolph-Macon dropped to 15-7.
Four different Eagles recorded double-digit kills as Emory outpaced RMC 62-56 in the kills department. Freshman Alana Dawson led the Eagles in terminations for the second straight game with 14 followed by senior Tara Martin (13), freshman Lily Martin (11) and senior Roisin O'Dowd (10). Emory hit .231 as a team (62-26—156) while Randolph-Macon went .262 on the attack (56-17—149), led by Grace Parker's match-high 27 kills. Senior Lauren Bandera and freshman Deborah Hong reached double figures in digs with 25 and 10 respectively.
Trailing a set and behind 10-7 in the fourth, the Eagles went on an 8-0 run that seized control of the match, taking the lead at 15-10. The Yellow Jackets were able to come within one at 17-16 and 21-20 but the Eagles won four of the final five points in the set to win 25-21, setting up a decisive fifth set.
In the fifth, Randolph-Macon was the early aggressor, leading by as many as three at 12-9. The Eagles closed with a flurry however, winning six of the final seven points led by three Dawson kills to claim the match.
Emory will be back in Atlanta next weekend as the team hosts its National Invitational on October 29th and 30th at the Woodruff PE Center.