VOLLEYBALL

Entering the day on a nine-match winning streak, Berry's women's volleyball defeated Rhodes before dropping a five-setter against Washington and Lee on Saturday. Set scores were 25-19, 25-15 and 25-17 and then 25-15, 22-25, 22-25,25-21 and 9-15.

The defeat to W&L halted a ten-match winning streak for Berry--one short of the program record.

To begin the afternoon, Berry swept Southern Athletic Association foe Rhodes in three sets. Freshman Emily Stromberg totaled nine kills and 11 digs while juniorStephanie Quinn had 35 assists and 10 digs for Berry. For the Lynx, Michelle Quina racked up 18 assists and Haley Pryor recorded nine kills.

Following this match, Berry went back to battle against Washington and Lee and opened up with a 25-15 win. Washington and Lee responded by claiming the next two sets, setting up a must-win fourth set for Berry. The team stepped up and took the fourth set, 25-21, forcing a decisive fifth set. Washington and Lee jumped ahead early and earned the win, 15-9, snapping Berry's ten-match win streak.

Berry's Stromberg had 11 kills and 12 digs; Quinn picked up 46 assists and 23 digs; sophomore Meredith Hopper notched 11 kills and 10 digs; and sophomore Gretchen Kaufman put up 14 kills. Washington and Lee's Meghan Meleski dished out 25 assists in addition to 13 digs; M.A. Boles had 16 kills and 28 digs; and Anna Lausberg had 14 kills and 17 digs.

With the loss, Berry is now 18-4 overall and a conference-leading 12-1 in SAA matchups. Washington and Lee upped its season ledger to 18-7.

"I felt like we executed well in the Rhodes match, and we are thrilled to pick up two more conference wins on the road this weekend," said Berry Head Coach Mika Robinson. "The match against Washington and Lee came down to ball control. We struggled with our first contacts in sets two, three and five, and that prevented us from running the offense we wanted to run. I was really proud of the fact that we didn't give up when our backs were against the wall after set three and even when we were down in set five."

CROSS COUNTRY

Berry hosted the Viking Open at the Clara Bowl. Emory won the women's college event. Unattached Jennifer Cook placed first in the 6K. Freshman Rachel Dorris was 35th at 25:08 for Berry, which was seventh of 15 teams. FULL

The women's cross country team had two alumni – Jenn Cook and Sarah Walcott – return and race unattached in the 6K. Cook led the group of collegiate athletes and won the meet with a time of 22:18. Walcott finished fourth overall in the meet with a finish of 23:29.

Junior Charlotte Collins ran second for the Lady Vikings with a time of 25:21. Senior Lauren Nation clocked in a time of 25:48.

With the cool fall weather, several runners finished with their fastest times ever for a 6K race: sophomore Nicole Fredette raced to the finish at 26:36; sophomore Leslie Stewart finished fifth for the Vikings at 27:27; and sophomore Hibah Abuhamdiah clocked in at 27. Junior Katy Jordan finished out the top seven for Berry with a time of 27:43.

Freshman Stephanie Mimbs completed the event in 28:09. Sophomore Kayla Heflin rana 29:42. Freshman Claire Park dropped over 4 minutes from her last 6K with a time of 29:51.

Sophomore Annika Stryker and junior Allison Preg ran side-by-side until the finish, posting times of 32:16 and 32:21 respectively. Stryker dropped over 3 minutes since her last 6K and was very pleased with her race.

"I improved a lot and got to run with Allison," Stryker said. "I just had fun with it. Viking Open was a great way to start fall break."

Berry will finish its cross country season at the Southern Athletic Association Championship in Clinton, Miss., on Oct. 27 at 11 a.m.

In the men's race on Satuday, Emory captured first place. Genesis Henderson of SCAD Atlanta placed first in the 8K with a time of 26:21. Junior Ryan James was second at 26:27 for third-place Berry.

Junior Brandon Davis, sophomore Zack Jordan, and senior William Anthony finished 23rd, 24th and 25th respectively in the event. Davis clocked in a time of 27:55, Jordan raced a 28:00 and Anthony finished with a time of 28:04. Davis raced his fastest 8K time this cross country season.

"Today was a good race after a tough week of training," Davis said. "I was able to run a season's best, and Zack and Boots (William) pushed me the whole way."

Freshman Kyle Harris finished fifth for the Berry team and raced a 28:31. Fellow freshman Isaac Zaubi posted a 28:58. Senior and team captain Lucas Stocks ran a 29:13 in his last cross country meet at Berry.

Freshman Will Howell ran a 29:43 and achieved a personal record. Senior Chirs White raced a season-best time of 30:39. Freshman Kevin Mason ran a personal record, dropping over half a minute and finishing with a time of 32:19.

Junior Michael Klein raced a 34:10, and freshman Robert Gibase took over a minute and a half off his previous personal record with a finish of 35:09.

The Berry men's cross country team will compete again on Oct. 27 at 10 a.m. in its final meet at the Southern Athletic Association Championship in Clinton, Miss.

SWIMMING

Berry College swimming hosted King College and LaGrange College in a double-dual meet at The Cage Center. The men won both contests and the Viking women split.

The men beat King, 86-12, and bested LaGrange, 83-16. On the women's side, the Vikings defeated LaGrange, 60-35, but lost to King, 57-41.

"This was a great way to start our season, said Viking Head Coach Paul Flinchbaugh. "Our men got off to a nice start and set some records early in the meet. And I was equally pleased with our women."

King beat LaGrange in both of their head-to-head matches. The Tornado women won 60-35. On the men's side, LaGrange fell, 59-24.

The Vikings return to action at the Birmingham-Southern Relays.

"This meet will give us a chance to have our swimmers focus on their best strokes and events," Flinchbaugh said.

Berry returns to double-dual meet action on Oct. 27 when Southern Athletic Association foes Rhodes and Centre visit The Cage pool.