Women's volleyball gives No. 2 Emory scare in four sets
Published: April 13, 2021
Box Score
MT. BERRY, Ga. -- The women's volleyball team performed well but came up short as they lost 25-18, 27-25, 20-25, 25-20 to the nation's No. 2 ranked Emory volleyball team in first round NCAA tournament action on Thursday. The loss concluded a historical record-breaking season.
The Lady Panthers (24-8) were victims of their own errors as they committed 32 attacking miscues in the contest.
"I was really proud of our team," said head coach Tom Ackerman. "We knew Emory was going to be a tough matchup for us. Going into the match our confidence was at an all time high."
"When you have confidence like that going into a match, it just feels like you are going to win. I thought we were going to win every point."
"Even when we were down 2-0, I still felt like we were going to win the whole thing."
"When we came here, we didnt come to lose," said Kirsten Laune. "We came with the mindset that we were going to try our hardest. In our conference tournament, we got ourselves down, but third set has been our set this year. We were ready to play and we werent ready to quit."
"This is one of those seasons that you hate to see it end just because you love the kids so much," said Ackerman. "Were a really close team. Weve got a really deep bench, so we do everything together as you can see today."
"For me, it kind of summed it up at the end when our five seniors gave their medals to the five girls that were on the bench who didnt get medals."
"Ive been telling them all year that they are the toughest kids I know. It's one of those years where it puts the mark for years to come."
Greenville accrued 52 kills, holding a slim edge over the winning squad's 48.
Senior Jamie Schollenbruch planted her name on top of the career digs record book as she picked up 33 digs in the contest to end her career with 2,279. Kerry Hammer, who ended her career in 2008, held the previous mark with 2,261.
"We had a great year, we just took a set from one of the best teams in the nation and you cant do anything but be estatic about all that," said Schollenbruch. "It was a great experience and it was a great way to end."
Sierah Ruffner hit at a .240 rate with 11 kills and five errors in 25 attempts.
Allyson Mitchell led all players with 16 kills.
Mitchell and Laune were match leaders with four service aces, and Laune also contributed 45 assists.
"I love our team, so its sad to see this team end but Im excited to see what we can do from here on out," said Laune. "Losing Jamie is a big loss for us but I think we have people who are going to be able to step up. We love the sport, but we love each other more. Thats why we play. I dont think were going lose that going into next year, so Im excited about that."
"Im super proud of my kids," said Ackerman. "I thought they did a great job, played really good, and everybody played a role in our success -- the coaches, our bench, our parents, everybody around us. We just had a ton of support."
Greenville ended the season with their second SLIAC tournament title and sixth consecutive regular season championship.
