EMMAUS ATHLETICS

The Lady Eagles achieved their goal at the ACCA National Tournament in Joplin, MO, heading back to Iowa with a 4th place finish. “We knew the road to reach the semi-finals would be hard and we would have to win at least two matches in pool play to have a chance,” said Coach Pitman. “The top five seeds all came in with winning records and we believed any team could win the whole thing.”

The ACCA Awards Brunch was Thursday morning and Emmaus had three players honored. Bethany Scheer received the Scholar Athlete Award, Katie Ryan was named second team All-American, and senior captain Shannon Flogel was named first team All-American. “Well done and well deserved,” commented Coach Pitman. “Shannon and Katie had great seasons and were supported by the great play of their teammates as well.”

Pool play began on Thursday evening, and Emmaus was tested right from the start in their first match against the #1 seed and host team, Ozark Christian College. “We were mentally prepared for the challenge Ozark would present to us,” said Coach Pitman. “We were nervous at the beginning but played an incredible match the rest of the night.” The Lady Eagles fell 14-25 in the first set but charged back to win in an exciting five set match (25-14, 25-13, 23-25, 15-12). “We played with pure heart and stayed mentally tough in this match and I believe it was the highlight of the season for us,” commented Coach Pitman. “It was an amazing feeling for Hannah and me to watch the ladies play unified ball and give it their all on the floor. Our soccer team went hoarse with cheering and they were huge in helping us keep momentum.”

The win against Ozark put Emmaus in a good position on Friday as they finished out pool play. The first match against Champion Baptist (Hot Springs, AK) was close for the first half of the first two sets, with the Lady Eagles pulling away at the end of each (25-18, 25-16). Set three saw Emmaus hit a hot serving streak to close out the match quickly (25-8).

The Lady Eagles now faced a familiar foe, Calvary Bible (Kansas City, MO), but were unable to come up with a victory. “Calvary is a very smart and well coached team and they did a great job of exploiting our weaknesses,” commented Coach Pitman. “We played well, but Calvary played outstanding and deserved the win.” Emmaus lost 1-3 (19-25, 22-25, 25-21, 21-25).

The wins against Ozark and Champion were enough to propel the Lady Eagles into the semi-finals on Saturday, where they were matched against #2 seed Hillsdale Baptist (Moore, OK). “Hillsdale is a quick athletic team with very aggressive offense and serving,” said Coach Pitman. Emmaus played exceptional, urgent ball, giving all they had, but in the end they were not able to match the Lady Saints as they fell 0-3 (18-25, 21-25, 18-25).

Thirty minutes later Emmaus faced Calvary again in the third place and final match of the season. “We played with all we had left, which wasn’t a lot,” said Coach Pitman. “I am so proud of the ladies for fighting until the last point to end an incredible season.” Emmaus and Calvary battled back and forth with both teams having hot and cold streaks, but in the end the Lady Warriors caught the momentum at the right time, defeating the Lady Eagles in five sets (25-17, 24-26, 26-24, 19-25, 8-15). “There is no shame in losing to a great team like Calvary who truly played outstanding volleyball in this tournament,” said Coach Pitman. “Our ladies showed great character and heart the whole season and Emmaus should be very proud of what they have accomplished for our young volleyball program.”

The Lady Eagles end the 2012 season with a record of 17 wins and 8 losses and were competitive in every match they played, being swept 0-3 only three times. “I speak for Hannah and myself when I say we have been blessed by this group and have appreciated how they desired to have godly hearts both when things were going well and when things were hard,” said Coach Pitman. “We are looking forward to seeing future Emmaus teams build on the success of this season.”

The Emmaus volleyball team will make an appearance at the ACCA National Tournament in Joplin, MO this week for just the second time in their program’s short history. The Lady Eagles ended regular season play with a record of 15 -5, and have spent the last two weeks improving their game both in practice and with scrimmages against Loras College (NCAA DIII) and Clarke University (NAIA). “Our schedule has slowed down a bit but it has been very positive for us to step back and to have some quality time to work on specific aspects of our game,” commented Coach Pitman. “The whole team is feeling great about the way we are performing right now.”

The Lady Eagles enter the national tournament as the #4 seed and will need at least two wins in their pool to have a chance at being in the winner’s bracket. “This will be a very tough tournament and we hope to play our best volleyball of the season,” said Coach Pitman.

Emmaus faces #1 seeded tournament hosts Ozark Christian College in their first match on Thursday (6pm). They then face #8 Champion Baptist College (12pm) and #5 Calvary Bible College (4pm) on Friday afternoon. You can keep up with the Lady Eagles’ progress on Facebook at www.facebook.com/EmmausVolleyball

The Lady Eagles came home from Dunbar, WI on Saturday night with a second place finish at Northland’s tournament.

In their first match on Friday, Emmaus was pitted against NCAA DIII opponent Mt. Mary College (Milwaukee, WI). “We knew this would be a huge test coming in, as Mt. Mary defeated Moody 3-1 earlier this season,” said Coach Pitman. The Lady Eagles played some inspired ball at times, and were able to sneak two sets from the Blue Angels, but in the end Mt. Mary’s offense proved too difficult to defend against as they dominated the other three sets for a 3-2 victory.

The Lady Eagles then took on the Lady Lions of Finlandia University (Houghton, WI), another NCAA DIII opponent. After initially struggling to defend Finlandia’s attack, Emmaus pulled together a consistent run to take the first set 26-24. Sets two and three found the Lady Eagles playing with much better tempo, as they took both sets to win the match (25-21, 25-13).

On Saturday morning Emmaus faced off against the Lady Pioneers of Northland; a win for either team would mean a trip to the championship match. “We played Northland in the very first match of the year, and we were all very aware that they have a program of excellence and they would be a much different team this time around,” commented Coach Pitman. Indeed such was the case, as the Lady Pioneers stormed to a 16-25 win in the first set. The Lady Eagles would not give up however, as they fought and fought for every point in sets two and three, coming out with a slim win in each (26-24, 27-25). Northland hit one hot run at the beginning of set four and Emmaus could not recover as they dropped the set 19-25. The Lady Eagles now found themselves in their fourth fifth set match of the year. “We have struggled at times lately with retaining our composure under pressure, and we were glad to have another opportunity to show what our team is made of,” said Coach Pitman. Emmaus led 8-2 as they applied the pressure, but after the switch the Lady Pioneers would not give up, fighting back to make the score 12-14. The final sequence of the match saw some exciting, nail-biting volleyball complete with huge kills and stuff blocks during the five match points that were offered. In the end the Lady Eagles were able to take the set and the match by a score of 18-16. “We stuck to our game plan and came out on top, but just barely,” said Coach Pitman. “Kudos to Northland for playing a fantastic match.”

Thirty minutes later Emmaus took the court for a rematch against Mt. Mary for the championship, but found they had little left to give after the Northland match. The Blue Angels cruised to a 3-0 victory (14-25, 16-25, 13-25). “We were exhausted and drained in this match, not only physically but mentally and emotionally,” said Coach Pitman. “We reached our goal of playing for the championship this weekend and should be proud of how things ended up.”

Emmaus finishes their official regular season schedule with a record of 15 wins and 5 losses.

Confidence was high as the Lady Eagles made the trek to Ankeny to rematch the Faith Eagles and try to avenge their loss two weeks ago. At the end of the night, it was a case of the spirit being willing but the flesh being weak. “We came into this match mentally prepared and ready to compete with great incentive to win,” said Coach Pitman. “However, our bodies disagreed and were not up to the task.” Emmaus and Faith battled back and forth in the first set, knotting the score at 11-11, but that was as close as the match would be. “We did not play Emmaus volleyball tonight and failed to execute aspects of the game that we have been performing well to date,” commented Coach Pitman. “Faith played a stellar match and took advantage of every opportunity we gave them.”

Indeed nothing went right for the Lady Eagles as they hit a dismal .066 attack percentage for the match and gave up 20 aces on serve receive. “Balls we normally put away didn’t go down. Digs we normally make went astray. Poor calls that normally even out in the course of a match didn’t. If we had to have this kind of match this season, we are sure glad it is behind us now,” said Coach Pitman.

Emmaus dropped sets one and two by scores of 19-25 and 18-25. After a Faith injury the Lady Eagles made a run in set three to win 25-20, but set four was all Faith as they dominated by a score of 25-14.

“Every win and every loss is an opportunity for us to learn and become better as a team,” said Coach Pitman. “Tonight wasn’t the end of the season, we have lots of tough volleyball left to play and we will grow and move on from this.”

The Lady Eagles head to Northland International University (Dunbar, WI) this weekend for a tough four team tournament that will include two NCAA DIII schools (Mt. Mary – Milwaukee, WI and Finlandia – Houghton, MI). Emmaus’s record after these four matches will determine their seeding for the ACCA National Tournament. The Lady Eagles currently sit at 13-3 for the season.

It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t always pretty, but the Lady Eagles survived another Saturday of volleyball to improve to 13-2 on the season.

In the first match of the day vs. Calvary Bible College (Kansas City, MO), Emmaus rode the volleyball rollercoaster, at times playing inspired and unbeatable, at times playing sluggish and error ridden. “We are continuing to work and learn about generating tempo and controlling momentum,” commented Coach Pitman. “Even though we had some very rough patches, I was very proud that we didn’t let it get us down and we fought hard to bounce back for the win.” The Lady Eagles closed out the win in their second fifth set match of the season (25-16, 20-25, 25-16, 18-25, 15-11).

The second match saw Emmaus play with more control and confidence as they defeated Grace Bible College (Grand Rapids, MI) 25-20, 25-21, 25-19. “Grace is a much improved team since our last meeting and they pushed us to stay in system and run our offense,” said Coach Pitman.

The Lady Eagles now look to the rest of what will be the toughest week of the season to date. The Lady Eagles hit the road tonight for a rematch with Faith Baptist (Ankeny, IA) and then make the trek to Northland International for a tournament this weekend.

Bouncing back from their loss earlier in the week, the Lady Eagles played some great volleyball on the weekend as they swept their triangular in Lake Zurich, IL against Great Lakes Christian College and hosts Dayspring Bible College.

In the first match against Great Lakes it was all Emmaus, as great ball control and serving gave them a quick victory over the young Lady Crusaders (25-14, 25-5, 25-11). “We did a great job in this match of controlling tempo and running our offense,” commented Coach Pitman.

Playing to a packed house in the last match of the day against Dayspring would prove no easy task for the Lady Eagles however. “Dayspring is always tough to beat as you really need to put balls down with authority,” said Coach Pitman. “They are a great team that never gives up and we knew that their gym is always hard to win in.” Indeed set one found Emmaus trailing Dayspring for most of the set as the Lady Eagles struggled to stop the middle attack. Dayspring caught a wave of momentum and closed out the set 22-25. Dayspring continued their control of the match in set two, but the Lady Eagles finally found the spark they needed to ignite their play. “I’m not sure what happened, but suddenly we decided we wanted to play with passion and win the match,” said Coach Pitman. “It is fun to see the team take ownership of tough situations and I thought our response today was amazing.” Emmaus mounted the comeback to take set two 29-27, silencing the boisterous crowd. Set three was dominated by the Lady Eagles as they continued to play with passion, winning 25-14. “Once we take away our unforced errors and play with confidence in our abilities it is amazing to see the different team that emerges,” commented Coach Pitman. Emmaus led set four almost the whole time and held off against a comeback from Dayspring to win the set (25-22) and the match. “Every player played well today, but special recognition goes to Katie Koppen and Heather Grimm for coming off the bench and making large contributions to our efforts,” said Coach Pitman.

The Lady Eagles improve to 11-2 on the season, but aren’t taking anything for granted as they look towards a bid for a spot in the ACCA National Tournament. “We still have much to improve on as a team and we have committed to work even harder this second half of the season,” said Coach Pitman. “These ladies have exhibited wonderful character and testimonies this fall and Emmaus is proud of them whatever the results may be at the end of the day.”

The Lady Eagles take the court at home on Saturday in what should be two very close matches versus ACCA foes Calvary Bible College (Kansas City, MO) and NCCAA DII Grace Bible College (Grand Rapids, MI). Match times are 11:00 am and 3:00 pm in the Pollard Fieldhouse.

It was a slugfest that lasted over two hours, and when it was all over the points were even. But the Lady Eagles came up one set short of a victory against Faith Baptist Bible College (Ankeny, IA). In a match that couldn’t be any closer, both teams caught and lost momentum as they played some amazing volleyball in the Pollard Fieldhouse. Each team put 111 points on the board, with each set being decided by a small margin (25-21, 23-25, 25-27, 25-23, 13-15). “I am so proud of how the ladies played tonight,” said Coach Pitman. “It is extremely difficult to lose in five sets, especially such a close match, and especially at home.” Indeed Emmaus had opportunity to close out the match in sets four and five, but Faith refused to let balls hit the floor as they mounted comeback runs to close out the night. “Coach Nihart’s teams are always great at making in game adjustments, and they did a great job of finding ways to put points on the board,” commented Coach Pitman. “As well as continuing to learn how to respond to pressure, we as a team are going to work hard on dealing with disappointment and frustration. I am excited to see how a loss like this can have a positive impact for us as we begin the second half of the season.”

The Lady Eagles now look ahead to their remaining ten official regular season matches, of which eight will be against teams that they have already played. “We’ve had a great run, but the season never gets easier,” said Coach Pitman. “The competition is always going to be improving and ready to win – and that is where we need to be as well.”

Emmaus will have their first opportunity to work to that end as they head to the north side of Chicago on Saturday to take on Great Lakes Christian (Lansing, MI) and hosts Dayspring Bible College (Lake Zurich, IL). The Lady Eagles are currently 9-2 on the season.

Emmaus improved their record to 9-1 on the season with three wins this past weekend in the Great Lakes State. “It wasn’t always pretty volleyball, but we exhibited a lot of courage under pressure and I am very proud of how the ladies handled adversity,” commented Coach Pitman.

On Friday night the Lady Eagles were pitted against a tough Kuyper College squad in what was to be a very hard fought match. The Lady Cougars established a great middle attack and fed off the home court crowd, but Emmaus was able to steal set one by a score of 25-21. In the second set Emmaus struggled with serve receive and unforced errors as Kuyper dominated 12-25. “We had a horrific set, but the nature of volleyball is the swinging of momentum,” said Coach Pitman. “We are learning, and will continue to learn all season, that to become a great team you must deal with loss of momentum and bad runs and recover.” The Lady Eagles did just that, taking set three (25-19) and a very exciting set four (26-24) to close out the match.

Saturday the Lady Eagles traveled across town to face hosts Grace Bible College and Great Lakes Christian College. “We battled illness and fatigue in the morning and were very sluggish out of the gate,” said Coach Pitman. Emmaus trailed the Lady Tigers by large amounts in the first two sets, forcing dramatic comebacks in order to win both (25-23, 25-22). The Lady Eagles eventually found some tempo and were able to close out set three by a score of 25-20 to close out the match.

In the second match of the day Emmaus found new life and took down the Lady Crusaders of Great Lakes 25-8, 25-13, 25-12 on great serving and ball control.

The Lady Eagles play the last match of the first half of the season tomorrow night at home as they take on in-state rival Faith Baptist Bible College (Ankeny, IA) in what promises to be a very tough contest. The first serve is at 6:30 pm in the Pollard Fieldhouse.

The Lady Eagles hosted an exciting match against Moody Bible Institute (Chicago, IL) on Friday night. The Lady Archers, currently 5th in the NCCAA DII national rankings, came ready to put points on the board, as Emmaus fell in the first set 15-25. “We started slowly, which is very dangerous against a team like Moody,” said Coach Pitman. “We battled nerves and were hesitant which hindered our passing and attack percentage.”

Sets two and three saw a different Emmaus team come off the bench though, as they battled Moody point for point. In the end it was the Lady Archers who prevailed by a narrow margin (25-27, 21-25) to hand the Lady Eagles their first loss of the season. “Even though we lost the match, I was proud of the character and hard work of the girls,” said Coach Pitman. “Moody is a great team and they exposed some of our weaknesses, which we will use as a learning experience to help us improve.”

Freshman Katie Ryan (Wichita, KS) once again led the attack for Emmaus with 9 kills and also contributed 2 solo and 7 assisted blocks. Janae Squires (Brodhead, WI) had 14 digs and Sarah Walker (Hutchinson, KS) dished out 21 assists.

The next day the Lady Eagles faced off against NCAA DII opponents North Central University (Minneapolis, MN). It was a back and forth match with both teams generating a lot of offensive firepower. Emmaus emerged the victor in four close sets (25-23, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22). “We reduced our errors in this match and that secured the win today,” commented Coach Pitman. Emmaus had serving and attack percentages of 97.06% and 21.29% respectively.

With the victory Emmaus improves their season record to 6-1. The Lady Eagles are on the road this weekend as they travel to Michigan for three matches against NCCAA DII opponents. 

Emmaus defeated ACCA opponents Barclay College (Haviland, KS) and Calvary Bible College (Kansas City, MO) last weekend in Kansas City. With the wins the Lady Eagles improve their record to 5-0 on the young season.

“We are continuing to focus on our team unity, and the ladies did a wonderful job of keeping their goal in mind on the court,” commented Coach Pitman.

In the first match against Barclay, Emmaus played strong ball in the first two sets and then gave up some long runs in set three before recovering to take the match (25-15, 25-23, 17-25, 25-11).

Facing off against the Lady Warriors from host school Calvary, the Lady Eagles again had a tough run, this time in set two, but ultimately were able to generate enough momentum of their own to take the match (25-22, 14-25, 25-15, 25-18).

Shannon Flogel and Sarah Walker combined for 67 assists on the weekend, while Katie Ryan and Taylor Kaczinski led the offense with 26 and 16 kills respectively. Janae Squires contributed 6 aces.

The Lady Eagles take the floor at home tonight and tomorrow as they face off against Moody Bible Institute (Chicago, IL) and North Central University (Minneapolis, MN). Matches are at 7:00 pm Friday and 2:00 pm Saturday in the Pollard Fieldhouse.