HARRISONBURG, Va. - It was a thrilling Saturday evening for the Gallaudet University women's volleyball team at the Eastern Mennonite University tri-meet in the Yoder Arena as the Bison won not one, but two five-set matches after being down 0-2 in both.

Gallaudet (5-7) started the tri-meet with a comeback against Shenandoan University. The Bison dropped the first two sets by the scores of 24-26 and 19-25. GU rallied to win the next three sets, 25-19, 26-24, 15-7 over the Hornets (3-7).

Freshman opposite Emily Wright (Auburn, Calif.) led the Bison with 21 kills while senior Elina Rubinshteyn (Austin, Texas) added 17 kills and two block assists. Fellow senior outside hitter Karita Lewis (Frederick, Md.), fresh off her 1,000th career kill on Friday night, recorded 16 kills and eight digs. Sophomore setter Emma Giuntoli (Austin, Texas) passed out a match-high 51 assists and added 17 digs for the double-double. Giuntoli also served up five of Gallaudet's 15 service aces. Freshman middle hitter Anya Pothorski (Indianapolis, Ind.) was strong upfront with two block solos and one block assist. 

In the nightcap, Gallaudet followed the same script as it fell behind 0-2 after the host Royals (3-4) won 25-22 and 25-23. The Bison didn't crumble as they fought hard to win the third set, 28-26, to chip away at the EMU lead. Gallaudet took the fourth set 27-25 before it finished off the match in the fifth set, 15-13, with a big block from Lewis and freshman Jayne Taylor (Austin, Texas).

Wright led the way with 19 kills while Lewis tallied 18 kills, 14 digs, one block solo and three block assists. Rubinshteyn added 10 kills while Giuntoli passed out 42 assists and made 14 digs. Junior libero Mia Upchurch (Austin, Texas) accumulated 18 digs and Pothorski had eight blocks (two block solos). Sophomore Lelia Sicoli (Austin, Texas) served up a career-high seven aces as Gallaudet finished the match with 17 service aces.

BISON TRACKS

• GU has won three matches in a row
• The last time Gallaudet won three or matches in a row was in October 2019
• Gallaudet last won back-to-back 3-2 matches during the 2014 season when the Bison beat Catholic (Oct. 29) and Lebanon Valley (Nov. 1)
• The Bison served up 32 service aces in the two matches today
• Gallaudet has tallied 45 aces during the three-match win streak
• GU had 18 block assists in the win over the Royals, that's the most block assists since Gallaudet had 22 vs. Penn St.-Altoona on Sept. 1, 2018
• EMU defeated Shenandoah earlier in the day in straight sets, 3-0, in a conference match

UP NEXT
Gallaudet returns home and will play host to University of Mary Washington (10-3) on Wednesday, Sept. 22, at 7 p.m. in the Field House. If you are planning to attend the match please make sure to review our spectator policy.