DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University volleyball punched its ticket to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals with Wednesday's 3-1 quarterfinal victory over Eastern Mennonite University in the Grant Center.
The No. 2 seed Averett nearly swept the No. 7 seed EMU before eliminating the Royals in four sets by scores of 25-18, 25-8, 28-30 and 25-11. Averett (19-10) will host No. 3 seed Washington and Lee University at 7 p.m. Friday in the ODAC semifinals.
The Cougars, who swept EMU (8-14) 3-0 on Oct. 15, continued to find success against the Royals in the opening set Wednesday. Averett built some distance on the scoreboard midway through the frame before finishing off the set with a 25-18 win.
The second set belonged to Averett from the start as the Cougars put up one of their most dominant sets of the season. As a team, Averett hit .394 while steamrolling the Royals 25-8.
Eastern Mennonite, however, didn't go quietly after finding some momentum early in the third set. Averett remained within striking distance for most of the match as the two teams nearly matched each other point for point after the Cougars tied it 17-17. Both teams had set point as they went to extra points in loud, intense gym atmosphere suitable for a championship match. The Royals eventually pulled it out 30-28 to stay alive and force a fourth set.
Any momentum Eastern Mennonite got from the third set win quickly was squashed by Averett as the Cougars raced out to a 12-5 advantage. Averett cruised to a 25-11 win to seal the victory in front of a home crowd of 300.
Junior
Sarah Marlowe led Averett with 14 kills and seven digs, junior
Emma Nash had a double-double of 12 kills and 15 digs with three service aces and three total blocks and senior
Morgan Barnes finished with 11 kills for the Cougars, who hit .311 as a team. Junior
Erin Gray tallied a team-high 25 digs with 10 assists, freshman
Dayton Moore notched a double-double of 19 assists and 15 digs and sophomore
Kinsley Stevens finished with a team-best 24 assists. Freshman
Rachel Green added 11 digs and nine kills for Averett.
The win also made history as Averett's first ODAC Tournament victory as an institution since becoming a member of the league on July 1, 2022.
Averett now controls its destiny and can host its path all the way through the rest of the ODAC Tournament should the Cougars continue to advance past Friday's semifinal. With No. 1 seed Virginia Wesleyan University getting upset by No. 8 seed Roanoke College in Wednesday's quarterfinals, the Cougars are the highest seed remaining.
Roanoke's 3-1 win over the top seed Virginia Wesleyan will send the Maroons to No. 4 seed Randolph-Macon College in Friday's other semifinal. The Yellow Jackets swept No. 5 seed Bridgewater College 3-0. Washington and Lee advanced to face Averett with its 3-0 win over No. 6 seed University of Lynchburg in the quarterfinals.
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