PARKVILLE, Mo. – Women's Volleyball was right back in action with matchups against Wayland Baptist and #8 Park. Cornerstone opened the day with a 3-0 25-17, 25-23, 25-14 sweep of Wayland Baptist to open the year 2-0. Emmalee Murphy led the way with 10 kills as Kylie Barron added seven blocks to highlight the defense. In their second game of the day, Cornerstone had a tall task at hand against #8 Park. After a tough battle back and forth, the Golden Eagles came away with an upset victory 3-1 25-25, 22-25, 25-23, 26-25, snapping Park's 87-game home win streak and giving Cornerstone their first top 10 victory since 2017. Aubrey Johnson led the way with 15 kills and 12 digs with Aubrey Lenz adding 41 assists. Cornerstone returns home for their home opener against Spring Arbor on Wednesday, August 28 starting at 7 p.m.

Game One Recap – Cornerstone – 3 Wayland Baptist – 0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-14)
 
First Set: Cornerstone – 25 Wayland Baptist – 17

• Cornerstone and Wayland Baptist opened the first set tied 2-2 after a kill from Gabby VerBerkmoes.
• The Golden Eagles rattled off five straight points to take a 7-2 lead over the Pioneers thanks to a kill from Emmalee Murphy and a block from Gabby VerBerkmoes.
• Wayland Baptist would respond with four straight points to make it 7-6 early in the first set.
• Cornerstone's second 5-0 run of the first set sees them extend their lead 14-7 thanks to kills from Kylie Barron and Aubrey Johnson with a service ace added from Olivia Endris.
• Two more attack errors from the Pioneers gave Cornerstone seven points away from a set one victory, 18-12.
• Jada Thomas and Emmalee Murphy had kills for the Golden Eagles as they close out the first set strong 25-17.

 
Second Set: Cornerstone – 25 Wayland Baptist – 23

• The Golden Eagles opened the second set on a 5-2 run thanks to a kill from Gabby VerBerkmoes and a block from Kylie Barron and Emmalee Murphy.
• Back-to-back errors from the Pioneers sees Cornerstone lead 9-6.
• A 4-1 run by the Golden Eagles sees their lead grow to 13-8 after back-to-back kills, one from Aubrey Johnson and Gabby VerBerkmoes.
• Emmalee Murphy adds another kill to make it 17-12 late in the second set.
• A 3-0 run by Wayland Baptist forced Cornerstone to call a timeout as the Golden Eagle lead is now one, 19-18.
• A kill from Olivia Endris and an error from the Pioneers gave the Golden Eagles some breathing room late in the second set, making it 22-19.
• Back-to-back points from Wayland Baptist makes it 24-23 but Kylie Barron stopped their run with a kill to take set two, 25-23.

 
Third Set: Cornerstone – 25 Wayland Baptist – 14

•  Wayland Baptist jumped out to a 4-3 lead to begin the third set.
• Cornerstone would rally off a 3-0 run highlighted by blocks from Kylie Barron, Aubrey Lenz, and Emmalee Murphy to take a 6-4 lead.
• The points continued to be traded back and forth as it is now 8-8.
• Cornerstone forced Wayland Baptist into a timeout thanks to a 5-0 run with four of the points as errors from the Pioneers.
• The run continued for the Golden Eagles as they rallied off nine straight points to take a 17-8 lead to force Wayland Baptist into their final timeout.
• The errors continued to pile up for the Pioneers as it is 19-13 Cornerstone.
• The Golden Eagles finished the third set on a 6-0 run to take the third and final set 25-14. Emmalee Murphy had the final kill of the match.

 
Game Two Recap – Cornerstone – 3 #8 Park – 1 (25-15, 22-25, 25-23, 26-24)
 
First Set: Cornerstone – 25 Park – 15

• Cornerstone jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the first set after kills from Jada Thomas and Gabby VerBerkmoes.
• Three straight errors by the Pirates gave Cornerstone an 11-6 lead early in the first set.
• Another kill by Jada Thomas sees the Golden Eagles lead 15-10.
• A 5-1 run by the Golden Eagles has them five points away from a set one victory, 20-11.
• A kill by Jada Thomas, a service ace from Aubrey Johnson, and a block from Kylie Barron and Emmalee Murphy ended the first set for Cornerstone 25-15.

 
Second Set: Park – 25 Cornerstone – 22

• Cornerstone once again jumped out to an early lead in the first set as a service ace from Aubrey Johnson makes it 3-1.
• Cornerstone and Park traded points back and forth with the Pirates ahead 9-7.
• A 3-0 run by the Golden Eagles sees them retake the lead 13-11 after a block from Gabby VerBerkmoes and Jada Thomas.
• A 5-1 run by Park sees them retake the lead 19-18 late in the second set.
• Park would close out the second set with three straight points to take set two, 25-22.

 
Third Set: Cornerstone – 25 Park – 23

• An out of rotation by Park gave Cornerstone the point to tie the third set 4-4.
• A block by Jada Thomas and Kylie Barron was then followed by a kill from Aubrey Johnson that gave Cornerstone an early 7-5 lead.
• Back-to-back kills from Emmalee Murphy makes it 12-9 in the third set.
• Park stormed right back in this one to tie the set 14-14.
• A 3-0 run by Cornerstone was followed with a 3-0 run by Park to keep it tied 17-17 late in the third set.
• Cornerstone would then follow with another 3-0 run to take a 20-17 lead that forced Park into a timeout.
• Park would cut into the Golden Eagle lead to make it 22-21 before back-to-back kills from Aubrey Lenz and Aubrey Johnson made it 24-21.
• Kylie Barron put the final touch on the third set with a kill to give Cornerstone a 2-1 advantage.

 
Fourth Set: Cornerstone – 26 Park – 24

• Alli Pickard recorded an ace for the Golden Eagles to make it 4-2 early in the fourth set.
• A 4-1 run by Park sees them take a 10-8 lead over Cornerstone.
• Cornerstone would then rattle off five straight points to take a 13-10 advantage over the Pirates thanks to four errors and a kill from Aubrey Johnson.
• The Golden Eagles continued to grow their lead with another big run after a block from Gabby VerBerkmoes and Aubrey Lenz made it 17-11.
• A Jada Thomas kill and a big block from Kylie Barron and Emmalee Murphy made it 21-15 Cornerstone late in the fourth set.
• Park has used a huge 5-0 run to make it a 22-21 match late in the fourth set.
• A big kill from Gabby VerBerkmoes and an error from Park makes it 24-22 Cornerstone.
• Back-to-back points from Park ties it 24-24 before Aubrey Johnson would get a kill and a long rally that resulted in a Park error gave Cornerstone the 26-24 fourth set victory.

 
By the Numbers:
87 – Cornerstone snapped Park's 87-match home win streak
65 – Aubrey Lenz recorded 65 assists (24/41) between both matches
21 – Aubrey Johnson led the Golden Eagles with 21 total kills (6/15)
12 – Kylie Barron led the team with 12 total blocks
 
What's Next?
The Golden Eagles return to Grand Rapids to host Spring Arbor on Wednesday, August 28 for their home opener starting at 7 p.m.
 
 
Volleyball Contact: Jonny Strube
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