Sept. 8, 2008

Southwestern volleyball came out strong last weekend against two nationally-ranked teams at the Emory Classic in Atlanta, beating #18 Haverford College and pressing #3 Emory University to a five game tiebreaker before losing 13-15.

The Pirates racked up their first tournament victory against Carleton College Friday afternoon, taking the Knights in three games. In the afternoon, Southwestern faced off against host Emory University, bringing home the first two games. The Eagles rebounded to tie the score over the next two sets, drawing the Pirates into a tense tiebreaker which they lost 13-15. Strong defensive plays dominated the series, with both teams accumulating 104 digs, 31 belonging to libero Sam Lingamfelter.

Southwestern didn't get any breaks from Haverford College on Saturday, who also looked ready to take back the series in the fourth set with the Pirates down 19-24. The women rallied for a 28-26 victory, closing out the Fords 4-1, and finished out the day with another 3-0 victory against Averett University.

Sam Lingamfelter and Lauren Brown were both selected as part of the Emory Classic All-Tournament team for their contributions. Brown, who accumulated 15 blocks over the tournament (with six against Emory, where she also hit 34.2% with 15 kills), was nominated as the SCAC Player of the Week.

Southwestern volleyball will play their first home games this weekend as part of the Southwestern Invitational September 12 and 13.

Box score - SU vs. Carleton (Sep. 5)
Box score - SU vs. Emory (Sep. 5)
Box score - SU vs. Haverford (Sep. 6)
Box score - SU vs. Averett (Sep. 6)