Royals Fall in CVC Opener

HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Royals opened CVC play on Tuesday, welcoming #10 ranked Southern Virginia to Yoder Arena.

The Royals were able to take the first set from the Knights but SVU rallied to win the next three and take a 3-1 (24-26, 25-14, 25-15, 25-16) win.

Records: EMU 9-8, 0-1 CVC | Southern Virginia 12-2, 4-1 CVC

Highlights

• The teams were evenly matched out of the gate, with neither able to pull ahead by more than a point. Kills from David Ward and Walter Spurlock gave the Royals a 12-10 lead before SVU tied things again. Later in the set, with EMU ahead by two, the Knights went on a 5-1 run, forcing an EMU timeout. SVU was able to push the score to 23-20, but the Royals responded with two straight to cause Southern Virginia to take a timeout. SVU picked up a point to make it 24-22, but EMU wouldn’t go down as Nate McGhee‘s kills and AJ Bagby‘s block put EMU ahead by one. The Royals closed out the set with another block, this time from Bagby and Tyler Oaks.
• Set two started out close once again, with things staying tied to 9-9. But SVU then went on a 10-2 run to take a 19-11 lead. EMU would pick up kills from McGhee and Ward but SVU would take the set and tie things at one apiece.
• A 9-1 run highlighted the start of the third set for the Knights as they took an 11-4 lead. They were able to extend that lead to double digits, 23-10, before EMU rallied a bit. Four straight off kills from Ward and a Bagby/Walter Spurlock block forced SVU to take a timeout. Out of the break, the Knights scored two of the final three to take the set.
• A Bagby/Ward block, McGhee ace and Spurlock kill gave the Royals a 3-0 start to set four. The teams traded points until SVU pulled ahead with an 8-2 tilt, taking a 13-8 lead. The Royals kept SVU in their sights, pulling with four at 17-13, before Southern Virginia went on a 7-1 run. Two points from EMU pulled them within eight but a kill from the Knights gave them a 3-1 win.

Statistical Leaders

McGhee – 10 kills, 11 digs

Ward – 9 kills, 10 digs, 2 blocks

Oaks – 23 assists, 5 digs, 3 blocks

Bagby – 7 blocks

What’s Next

EMU will continue CVC play when they head to New Jersey for a pair of matches. They’ll start with Kean on Friday night with first serve set for 7 pm.

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