The No.12-ranked Berry Vikings (10-4, 4-0 SAA) split their home opener double header on Saturday, defeating Southern Athletic Association foe Millsaps in four sets (25-16, 23-25, 25-22, 25-21). And fell to No.6-ranked Emory in three hard fought sets ( 22-25, 18-25, 27-29).
Berry 3 Millsaps 1
The Vikings took the first set with ease putting down six consecutive kills early on to set the tone. Back to back blocks by the Viking defense brought the score to 23-14, and was ended with a kill from
Cypress Guenther.
The Majors jumped out to a 7-2 lead early in the second set stealing the momentum out from under Berry. The Vikings took advantage of offensive errors by Millsaps and tied it up at 10 a piece. The two teams went back and forth until they found themselves tied yet again at 23-23. The Majors put down two kills for the final two points of the set.
The Vikings and Majors went back and forth for the majority of the third set until the last six points of the set, which all belonged to Berry, three of which were kills from
Bella Boston.
The Vikings climbed their way back from a 8-3 deficit early on in the forth set. Berry got into their groove on a seven point unanswered run, three of which were blocks.
Jazzy Innis laid down the final kill to take the match.
Boston led the team with 17 kills and added a double-double. Lindsay MacDiarmid set up 41 assists, and
Kate Whittle totalled 20 digs.
Berry 0 Emory 3
The Eagles took control of the first set finding a 12-6 lead on Berry. An Innis kill cut the deficit to 14-12, but Emory continued to overpower the Vikings offensively. There were a total of 29 kills in the first set alone, 15 from Emory and 14 from Berry.
The Eagles made big plays in key moments during the second set, which led to a 20-13 lead late in the set. The Vikings attempted a comeback with a five-point run, but it wasn't enough as Emory found their rhythm to close it out.
The Vikings found themselves down 17-11 in the third set with the game on the line. Point by point they earned their way back to a 22-22 tie. Berry made it set point with a kill from
Olivia Mallow. But the Eagles were able to take the third and final set with back to back kills.
Innis secured the double-double putting up 15 kills and 11 digs. MacDiarmid had 28 assists and
Kate Whittle had 16 digs.
The Vikings will be back in the Cage on Sunday to take on Birmingham-Southern at 12 p.m. EDT.
