Royals Drop to .500 in CVC Play With Loss at Marymount

ARLINGTON, Va. – EMU headed east on Friday, heading to NOVA to take on CVC foe, and nationally-ranked, Marymount. 

The Royals battled in all three sets but ultimately fell to the Saints, 0-3 (16-25, 17-25, 18-25) EMU now sits at 2-9, 1-1 CVC. 

Highlights

• The Saints jumped out to an early 5-1 lead before the Royals scored five of the next six, pulling within one. The two teams swapped points with EMU using back-to-back points, including a Ben Childers kill, to keep the match within one. The Saints then answered with a 9-2 run, with EMU’s points coming from Christopher Webster and Jacob Durren. With Marymount leading 18-10, EMU scored two straight on an error and another Durren kill but couldn’t grab the momentum to pull back into the set as they fell 16-25. 
• EMU held a lead for the first 17 points of the second set, leading 10-7 with kills from Webster, Wyatt Bollinger, Nate McGhee and a pair of Royals blocks. The Saints fought back and tied things at 10 and the two teams continued to keep things tied to 12 apiece. Marymount then went on an 8-0 run to pull ahead 20-12 before an error and a Webster ace put a stop to the tilt. The Royals were able to pick up three more points in the set but Marymount took a 2-0 lead, scoring five of the final seven points. 
• Things once again stayed close in the third set with the two teams swapping ties to eight-all. The Saints then used a 10-4 run to pull ahead 18-12. The Royals picked up four of the next six with kills from McGhee and made it closer at 20-16. EMU would pick up two more in the set but Marymount would close things out with 5-2 run to sweep the match. 
• McGhee led the way for EMU, picking up 10 kills. Bollinger added five to go with four digs. Tyler Oaks picked up a match-high 21 assists. Defensively, Childers and Durren each had a pair of blocks. 

What’s Next

The Royals will be off for the next 11 days, returning to the court, and Yoder Arena, on March 1 when they take on Randolph-Macon. First serve is scheduled for 7 pm. 

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