ATLANTA, Ga. — The Berry College volleyball team rallied to defeat Washington & Lee University 3-2 on Friday afternoon at Woodruff Arena, earning a 25-15, 21-25, 23-25, 25-19, 15-12 victory. The Vikings then came up short in a five-set battle against Emory University on Friday evening at Woodruff Arena, falling 3-2 (21-25, 25-16, 18-25, 25-23, 14-16).
Berry came out strong in the opening set, jumping out to an early 2-0 lead behind kills from
Shelby Harris and
Ava Brovet. After Washington & Lee answered with a point, the Vikings put together a strong stretch, scoring seven consecutive points to extend their advantage to 9-2.
Keira Kruk and
Madie Whitehead contributed kills during the run, while
Rosemary Boylston added a service ace. Berry continued to control the set, extending its lead to 13-4 following another kill from Kruk. Washington & Lee attempted to close the gap, but the Vikings maintained their advantage behind kills from
Cali Armstead and Whitehead. Berry eventually reached set point at 24-15 before closing out the frame 25-15 on a Washington & Lee attack error. The Vikings hit .395 in the opening set.
Washington & Lee responded in the second set, taking an early 3-1 lead behind kills from Grace Mitchener. Berry worked to stay within reach, with Kruk and Boylston contributing kills to keep the deficit manageable. The Vikings eventually found their rhythm, using a strong stretch from
Ailee England, who recorded multiple kills and helped Berry take a 10-6 advantage. Kruk and Whitehead continued to contribute offensively as Berry maintained its lead. Washington & Lee battled back to tie the score at 13-13 before the teams continued exchanging points. Berry remained within striking distance late in the set, but the Generals used a late run to pull ahead. Washington & Lee scored eight of the final 11 points to take the set 25-21 and even the match at one set apiece.
The third set featured another competitive battle, with Berry looking to regain control of the match. The Vikings opened with a strong stretch, taking a 4-1 lead behind kills from Whitehead and Harris, along with a pair of blocks involving Boylston. Berry continued to build its advantage, extending the lead to 8-3 following kills from Kruk. Washington & Lee responded with a run of its own, eventually cutting the deficit to 9-8. The teams traded points before the Generals pulled ahead, using a stretch of kills from Emma Mulvaney to take control. Berry continued to fight back, with Whitehead and Harris providing important offensive contributions. The Vikings tied the score at 21-21, but Washington & Lee answered with three consecutive points to close out the set 25-23 and take a 2-1 match advantage.
Facing a must-win fourth set, Berry responded with a strong start. After Washington & Lee scored the opening point, the Vikings answered with four consecutive points behind kills from Kruk and Harris, taking a 4-1 lead. Boylston and Kruk continued to contribute at the net as Berry extended its advantage to 6-2. The Generals attempted to close the gap, but Whitehead and Harris helped the Vikings maintain their lead. Berry continued to build momentum, moving ahead 10-6 before extending the advantage to 13-10. Kruk and Whitehead added consecutive kills to help push the lead to 16-11. The Vikings continued to apply pressure late in the set, with Whitehead recording another kill and Boylston contributing defensively. Berry eventually pulled away, scoring the final four points of the frame to secure a 25-19 victory and force a deciding fifth set.
Berry carried its momentum into the final frame, opening with three consecutive points behind kills from Boylston and Whitehead. Washington & Lee responded with two points, but Berry continued to find answers offensively. Kruk and Whitehead added kills to help the Vikings maintain their advantage, while Harris and Armstead contributed to the attack. Berry extended its lead to 8-5 before the Generals attempted to rally. The Vikings continued to control the final stretch, with Kruk recording multiple kills and Boylston adding another important point at the net. Washington & Lee fought back late, cutting the deficit to 14-12, but Berry closed out the match with a 15-12 victory to complete the comeback.
Whitehead led Berry offensively with a match-high 29 kills while hitting .397. Kruk added 19 kills and 22 digs for a double-double, while Harris contributed 13 kills and 19 digs. Armstead also provided a strong offensive performance with 11 kills while hitting .429. Brovet directed the offense with 71 assists, while Hurt anchored the defensive effort with a team-high 33 digs. Boylston finished with eight total blocks, including seven block assists, to lead the Vikings at the net.
As a team, Berry recorded 82 kills while hitting .288, compared with 57 kills and a .173 hitting percentage for Washington & Lee. The Vikings also finished with 79 assists, two service aces, 10 total blocks and 109 digs.
The victory marked Berry's 22nd win of the season and improved the Vikings to 22-4 overall with their next game right after versus Emory.
Berry vs. Emory
Berry opened the match with a competitive first set, trading points with Emory early.
Shelby Harris recorded the opening kill for the Vikings before
Keira Kruk and
Madie Whitehead added kills to keep the score close. Berry later used a pair of blocks from
Cali Armstead and
Ava Brovet to tie the set at 9-9. The teams continued exchanging points, with Harris and
Rosemary Boylston contributing kills to keep Berry within reach. However, Emory began to create separation midway through the frame, taking advantage of several Berry attack errors to extend its lead to 16-11. The Vikings attempted to rally behind kills from Boylston, Whitehead and Harris, eventually cutting the deficit to 23-21. Emory answered with two consecutive points to close out the set 25-21.
Berry responded in the second set with a strong offensive performance, taking control after another early back-and-forth start. Harris opened the scoring with a kill before Whitehead and Kruk added points to keep the Vikings within one. Berry eventually tied the set at 2-2 before taking advantage of consecutive Emory attack errors. Armstead and Whitehead helped Berry build its lead with a pair of blocks, while Brovet added a service ace to extend the advantage to 10-8. The Vikings continued to apply pressure, with Boylston and Harris contributing at the net to push the lead to 11-8. After Emory briefly closed the gap, Berry responded with another strong stretch. Kruk recorded consecutive kills, while Whitehead and Harris continued to find openings in the Emory defense. A kill from Whitehead and a service ace from
Ailee England helped Berry extend its lead to 23-15. Boylston added another service ace before Berry closed out the set 25-16 to even the match.
Emory regained the advantage in the third set, opening with an early lead before Berry worked to stay within striking distance. Boylston and
Cali Armstead contributed kills to keep the Vikings close, while Kruk and Whitehead added points offensively. Berry tied the set at 5-5 following a kill from Whitehead, but Emory responded with a stretch of points to regain control. The Vikings continued to battle, with Kruk recording a kill to make it 7-6 before Brovet and Boylston combined for a block to tie the score at 8-8. Emory answered with another run, using kills from Ella Moore and Skylar Giuliani to build its advantage. Berry continued to fight back behind kills from Kruk and Harris, but the Eagles extended their lead late in the set. Emory scored seven of the final nine points to take the frame 25-18 and move ahead 2-1.
Facing another must-win set, Berry responded in the fourth with a strong effort to force a deciding fifth frame. The Vikings traded points with Emory early, with Whitehead and Kruk providing kills to keep the score close. After falling behind, Berry used consecutive kills from Whitehead to help tie the set at 6-6. Brovet added another point as the Vikings continued to battle, while Harris and Boylston contributed kills to keep Berry within reach. The teams continued exchanging points through the middle of the set, with neither side able to create much separation. Emory eventually moved ahead 15-12, but Berry answered with kills from Kruk and Whitehead to stay in the match. The Vikings continued to chip away at the deficit, with Harris recording a kill and Brovet adding another point to help tie the score at 20-20. After Emory moved ahead 22-20, Berry responded with a Whitehead kill and a service ace from Boylston to even the score at 22-22. Boylston followed with another kill,
and an Emory attack error gave Berry a 24-22 advantage. After Emory cut the lead to one, Kruk finished the set with a kill to give Berry a 25-23 victory and force a fifth set.
The deciding set featured another tight battle as both teams fought for the match. Emory scored the opening two points before Berry answered with a kill from Whitehead. England added a service ace to tie the score at 3-3, but Emory responded with another stretch of points to build an 8-4 advantage. Berry continued to fight back, with Armstead recording a kill before Kruk and Harris added points to keep the Vikings within reach. Brovet contributed a kill, while a block from Boylston and Whitehead helped Berry pull closer. Brovet then recorded a service ace to give Berry a 12-11 lead, putting the Vikings within three points of the match. Emory answered to tie the score at 12-12, and the teams continued exchanging points. Harris recorded another kill to keep Berry even at 13-13, but Emory secured the final two points to earn a 16-14 victory and take the match 3-2.
Whitehead led Berry offensively with 16 kills, while Harris added 14 kills and Kruk finished with nine. Brovet directed the offense with 40 assists and contributed three kills, 18 digs and seven total blocks. Kruk led the Vikings defensively with 28 digs, while
Andrea Hurt added 22 digs. Armstead and Boylston each recorded six total blocks, while Boylston also contributed seven kills.
As a team, Berry recorded 54 kills while hitting .196, compared with 71 kills and a .250 hitting percentage for Emory. The Vikings finished with 48 assists, six service aces, 14 total blocks and 84 digs. Berry's 14 total blocks outpaced Emory's eight, while the Eagles held the advantage in kills and digs.
Despite the five-set loss, Berry showed resilience throughout the match, responding twice after falling behind and forcing a deciding fifth set. The Vikings finished the day with a 1-1 record at the Emory Invitational. They play tomorrow, November 7, at 3 p.m. in the Cage Center against Huntingdon for senior day to wrap up the regular season.
