Atlanta, Georgia - The Howard Payne University volleyball team flew to Atlanta to compete in the 2017 Emory Classic Tournament for the first time in school history on Friday afternoon. They played two matches against strong, nationally acclaimed programs during the first day of their historic visit and came away with strong performances, despite falling in six sets. 

Howard Payne would finish the day with two losses to start the tournament, 0-3 (18-25,13-25,13-25) to DeSales and 0-3 (12-25,11-25,12-25) to the tournament hosts, #5 Emory University.

The first match came against the 5-1 Bulldogs of DeSales University and the Lady Jackets (2-4) played the first set very close. After falling behind 8-3 to start the game, Cheyanne Lovelady and Macy Maniscalo got together for a kill and that helped to spark a three-point rally that would cut the deficit to 8-6.

The two sides then exchanged points for the next 11 serves until the Bulldogs were able to pull away and take the first set, 25-18. It looked like DeSales might pull away earlier, towards the end of the set, but Howard Payne was able to reel off four straight points to push the set all the way until the final serve. 

The Lady Jackets played the next set really close early as well,  trailing just 13-10 before the Bulldogs reeled off three straight service aces to help propel them to the 25-13. The third set had a similar feel, with DeSales again taking a 25-13 victory to take the victory.

Kailey Doering led the Lady Jackets in kills with six and Cheyanne Lovelady collected 18 assists and two service aces to lead Howard Payne. Freshmen Libero, Jordan Livingston registered 16 digs, good for second among all players.

In the second game of the day, Howard Payne matched up against the #5 ranked DIII volleyball program in the country, Emory University (3-1.) Besides a national ranking, the Eagles were also the tournament hosts and have historically been a great program. They have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 22 times and reached the final four in 2014, 2013, 2010, 2008, and 2003.

Despite the obstacles, the Lady Jackets showed well in the match. They fell behind early in all three sets but battled back to put the pressure on the Eagles' defense in the end. However, Howard Payne was unable to hold on down the stretch and lost the match 0-3 (12-25,11-25,12-25.)

Zhartezia Bradley (4), Kailey Doering (4), Madeleine Kelly (3) led the Lady Jackets offense in kills and Bradley would also tie for the lead in match blocks with three. Cheyanne Lovelady had 10 assists and Jordan Livingston added nine digs in the contest.

Howard Payne will have a quick turn around as day two of the tournament starts tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. The Lady Jackets will face off against Covenant College in game one and Chapman University in game two at 11:30 a.m. Live stats and video link can be found on HPUSports.com and follow along on social media, @HPUVBall on Twitter and @HPUSports on Instagram for in-game updates, interactive content and more.