Berry’s historic season ends Saturday night at Emory

The Vikings post their second 30win season in the program’s history.

The most successful season in Berry College volleyball’s NCAA Division III era came to a close on Saturday night as the Vikings fell to Emory University 3-0 in the regional finals.

Berry closed the year 30-7 after advancing to the regional championship match for the first time in program history. It was also just the second 30-win season since Berry added volleyball in 2003. The banner year improved head coach Caitlyn Moriarty’s record at the helm to 53-17 in two seasons.

With numerous records having already been broken on the year, the Vikings took the court in front of more than 250 fans including many Berry faithful who made the trip to the Woodruff PE Center in Atlanta.

Emory controlled the opening set 25-14, with its defense holding Berry to a .077 hitting percentage to the Eagles’ .263. Sarah Sprague continued her strong tournament, leading Berry with four kills in the opening set.

Berry began to find success in set two, narrowly dropping to a 2-0 deficit for the match 25-22. Berry hit .159 to Emory’s .200. As the teams continued to trade point-for-point, Sprague increased her kill total to eight. The Vikings also added a pair of blocks to keep the set tight.

The Eagles refused to be outdone in the final set, as the Vikings fell 25-18. It was Berry’s best set of the evening offensively, hitting .226 as a team. Several key blocks for the Eagles, as well as a stout back row, sealed the Vikings’ season.

Berry’s Hannah Kate Thompson and Emily Hancock were selected to the All-Tournament team.