HARRISONBURG, Va. — Senior middle blocker Courtney Berry (Charlottesville, Va./Western Albemarle) notched 11 kills on a .471 hitting percentage to send the Washington and Lee volleyball team past Eastern Mennonite, 3-0, on Sunday at Yoder Arena.
 
The Royals (3-8, 3-7 ODAC) jumped out to a 14-9 advantage in the first set, forcing a Generals' (10-0, 8-0 ODAC) timeout. After the break, W&L tallied five straight points, capped on a kill by junior middle blocker Katy Blain (West Palm Beach, Fla./Benjamin School), to even the score (14-14).
 
The teams were tied, 21-21, later in the stanza, but EMU won three of the next four points to assume a 24-22 lead. The Blue and White fought off the two set points with back-to-back kills by senior outside hitter Brynne Gould (Boone, N.C./Watauga) and sophomore outside hitter Maggie McSwain (Atlanta, Ga./Westminster).
 
After a service error, Eastern Mennonite had another chance to claim the set, but Gould responded with another kill to knot the score, 25-25. W&L had the next five set-point opportunities, but the Royals fought off each one to even the set at 30-30. A service ace by EMU put the Royals in front, 31-30, but a kill by Berry tied the score, 31-31.
 
A block by Blain again gave the Generals a set point opportunity, 32-31, but EMU answered one last time with a kill by first-year outside hitter Paris Hutchinson to even the set, 32-32. W&L finally put two consecutive points together with a kill by Blain and a combination block by Blain and Gould to take the set, 34-32.   
 
After securing the first, the Blue and White cruised in the second, 25-18, and the third, 25-16, to win the match, 3-0.
 
Berry needed just 17 swings to register her team-best 11 kills. Gould had nine kills, eight digs and three blocks. Blain finished the day with six kills on a .364 hitting percentage and a match-high seven blocks.
 
Sophomore setter Ashley Webb (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake) totaled 39 assists and 10 digs. Sophomore defensive specialist Caroline Gard (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy) also had 10 digs. Senior outside hitter Leah Green (Longwood, Fla./Lake Highland Preparatory School) and junior outside hitter Carson Allsteadt (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) each had five kills.
 
Hutchinson led all players with 13 kills, and first-year defensive specialist Abby Kaufman registered a match-high 12 digs.
 
The 10-0 record is the best start to a season for the Generals since winning their first 13 matches during the 2011 campaign. 
 
W&L returns to action on Tuesday, when it plays at Virginia Wesleyan at 7:00 pm.