MOUNT BERRY, Ga. — The Berry College volleyball team opened up the Berry Invitational and Southern Athletic Association play with a dominant 3-0 sweep of Oglethorpe on Friday morning and followed that up with a 3-1 win over No. 14 Emory in the evening at The Cage Center.
Berry 3 Oglethorpe 0
The Vikings came out strong in the opening set, trading points with Oglethorpe early before taking control. Berry used kills from Ailee England, Cali Armstead, Shelby Harris and Madie Whitehead to build its offense. Ava Brovet helped keep the attack going on offense, while Berry's defense worked to limit Oglethorpe's chances. With the score tied at 10-10, Berry completely took over the set. The Vikings scored the final 15 points of the frame, getting kills from Whitehead, Harris, Dahl and England along with strong serving from Andrea Hurt. Hurt recorded three service aces during the run, including the ace that ended the set. Berry finished the opening frame with a 25-10 victory and took an early 1-0 lead.
The second set started with Berry again taking control. The Vikings opened the frame with a 5-0 run and continued to put pressure on Oglethorpe with strong serving and attacking. England recorded a kill and a service ace early in the set, while Brovet added a kill and continued to distribute the ball around the court. Hurt and Rosemary Boylston also contributed kills as Berry extended its advantage. Whitehead added a service ace as the Vikings continued to build their lead. Berry eventually moved ahead 20-9 and maintained control through the final points. Boylston added a service ace late in the set, and the Vikings closed out the frame, 25-15, to take a 2-0 match lead.
With Berry needing one more set to complete the sweep, the Vikings continued their strong play in the third. Berry jumped out to an early lead before Oglethorpe responded, but the Vikings quickly regained control. Harris recorded multiple kills during the set, while Elise Trimble also helped Berry maintain its offensive dominance. Berry built leads of 10-4 and 15-6 before continuing to separate from the Stormy Petrels. The Vikings were strong at the net, including a block from Cali Armstead and Whitehead. Berry eventually reached a 20-9 advantage before finishing the match with five of the final seven points. Whitehead recorded a service ace and a kill late in the set, while England added a kill and a service ace to close out the 25-11 victory and complete the 3-0 sweep.
Whitehead and Harris led Berry offensively with 10 kills each, while England added seven kills. Whitehead also recorded three service aces, matching Hurt's three, while England added two. Brovet finished with 13 assists, followed by Trimble with nine. Armstead led Berry at the net with three blocks, while Dahl added two. Whitehead and Harris each recorded six digs, while Hurt finished with five digs.Berry finished the match with 40 kills on 66 attacks for a .439 hitting percentage. The Vikings also held advantages in assists, 37-10, service aces, 11-0, blocks, 6-3, and digs, 29-12. Oglethorpe finished with 11 kills and a -.051 hitting percentage.
The win moved Berry to 5-2 overall and 1-0 in SAA play, while Oglethorpe fell to 4-5 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
Berry 3 Emory 1
The Vikings got going early in the opening set, with
Madie Whitehead recording Berry's first kill from
Ava Brovet to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead. The two teams continued to trade points early, with the score tied at 6-6 and 7-7. Berry began to create some separation midway through the set when
Ailee England came in and recorded back-to-back service aces to help the Vikings take a 13-10 lead. Whitehead then added a kill to make it 15-10 as Berry continued to build its advantage. The Vikings pushed their lead to 18-13 and continued to control the set down the stretch. Berry reached set point at 24-16 before a block from Whitehead and Dahl finished the opening frame, 25-16.
Berry continued its strong play in the second set, trading points with Emory early before taking an 8-6 lead. The Vikings continued to build their advantage, and Dahl provided a spark from the service line with back-to-back aces to make it 11-9 and 12-9. Berry continued to pressure the Eagles as Whitehead,
Cali Armstead and
Shelby Harris provided kills throughout the set. The Vikings stretched their lead to 18-15 before continuing their run to make it 23-15. Berry reached set point at 24-17 and closed out the second set 25-18 on an Emory attack error to take a 2-0 lead.
Emory came out looking to extend the match in the third set and took an early 5-2 lead. Berry battled back and briefly moved ahead 8-7, but the Eagles answered with another run to regain control. The Vikings continued to fight, tying the score at 13-13 after a Whitehead kill and an Emory error. Emory then regained the lead and moved ahead 17-14. Berry continued to stay within reach, cutting the deficit to two points several times. Whitehead helped Berry tie the score at 21-21 with another kill, but Emory responded with a late run. The Eagles closed out the third set 25-21 to cut Berry's match lead to 2-1.
With the match on the line in the fourth set, Berry came out strong and quickly built a 5-4 lead before extending the advantage to 9-5. The Vikings continued to hold the lead through the middle of the set, moving ahead 12-8 and then 16-12. Emory began to chip away at the deficit, cutting the Berry lead to 16-14 and later tying the score at 20-20. The two teams continued to trade points as neither side could pull away. Berry moved ahead 21-20 before Emory answered to tie the set again. The Vikings then took a 22-20 lead, but the Eagles responded to make it 22-22. Berry moved ahead 23-22 before Emory tied the score again at 23-23. Emory took a 24-23 lead, but Berry answered to make it 24-24. The teams continued to trade points into extra points, with Emory taking a 26-25
lead before Berry tied the set again. An Emory bad set gave Berry a 26-25 advantage, but a Berry service error allowed the Eagles to tie it at 26-26. Armstead then delivered a kill from Brovet to put Berry ahead 27-26. Whitehead finished the match with another kill as the Vikings closed out the fourth set 28-26 and secured the 3-1 victory.
Whitehead led the Vikings offensively with 19 kills, while also recording 10 digs and six blocks in an all-around performance. Armstead followed with 11 kills and five blocks, while Harris added eight kills, three blocks and nine digs. Dahl contributed six kills, three service aces and four blocks. Brovet directed the Berry offense with 44 assists and added one service ace, four blocks and eight digs. Defensively,
Andrea Hurt led the Vikings with 22 digs.
Elise Trimble added three service aces, while
Ailee England recorded two aces. Berry finished the match with 53 kills compared to Emory's 35 and hit .169 as a team. The Vikings also recorded nine service aces and held Emory to a .105 hitting percentage.
The victory moves Berry to 6-2 overall and 1-0 in Southern Athletic Association play. They will play tomorrow at 4 P.M vs Randolph Macon to cap off the Berry Invitational.
