Last weekend, the EMU Men’s Volleyball team started off their season strong with two back-to-back home wins. The first match had Royals fans on the edge of their seats and spotlighted EMU’s upperclassmen in the front row, while the second match against Averett University allowed some fresh faces to play in Yoder Arena.

For the first match, EMU faced off against Mount St. Joseph University on their own home court. It was a statistically close game for all five sets, with set one finishing 25-18, set two 25-23, set three 21-25, set four 17-25, and finally EMU winning the fifth set 15-13. Mount St. Joseph had more overall kills and aces than EMU, however they also made more offensive errors and unforced errors, and were less successful on defense. Ultimately, this was a very offensive-heavy win for EMU, with junior pin hitter David Ward leading the offense with twenty kills. 

The second game against Averett finished with a win for the Royals: the first set 25-8, the second set 25-13, and the third set 25-19. This game was a consistent one for the Royals, with multiple service runs in the first set, including a ten point run in the beginning. The third set was more back-and-forth compared to the first two sets. However, EMU pulled through at 20-19, and picked up a five point run contributed by some newer faces—the match winning point was earned by a double block by first-year Pierce Donnelly and sophomore middle/outside hitter Delan Gilliam-Wright. First-year pin hitter Andre Mills led EMU’s offense for this game, with nine kills against Averett.

When asked how he felt the team has changed from 2023 to the 2024 season, Ward answered, “I believe a big part is that we added Jesus into the culture of this team. But, we also just have such good camaraderie with each other; we believe and trust every member of this team.” 

The EMU Men’s Volleyball team will go on to play at the Virginia Wesleyan invitational tournament at Virginia Wesleyan Jan. 26-27, then three more away games in Ohio. Look out for the Royals’ next home game versus Marymount University on Feb. 17. 

“We’re an adaptable group of guys,” Ward said. “We preach to believe and trust in yourself, and those around you.”