By Matthew D. Stokes, BerryVikings.com Staff Writer

ROME, Ga. – In its home opener, Berry (9-3) came out victorious over Southern Athletic Association opponent Hendrix (3-9) in four sets on Friday night at The Cage Center. Set scores were 25-14, 22-25, 25-16 and 25-22.

Junior  (pictured) paced Berry with a match-high 39 assists while freshman Emily Stromberg notched 15 kills and nine digs. Hendrix's Melissa Clement had a match-high 16 kills, and Zoe Calhoun totaled 32 assists.

In the first set, Berry jumped out to a 10-1 lead and emerged on top, 25-14. The second set saw Hendrix lead by as many as five points before Berry rallied to take the lead, an advantage it could not maintain as Hendrix won, 25-22.

Following that defeat, Berry came back in force to take set number three, 25-16. To close out the night, Berry rallied late to take the fourth and final set, 25-22.

"A win on our home court against a conference opponent is always a good win," said Berry head coach Mika Robinson. "I felt like we played really well in sets one and three and was proud of our composure in set four.

"We saw some specific improvements that we had worked on in practice this week, and our goal is always to take one more step toward excellence every day."

With the win, Berry improves to 3-1 in SAA play this season. The team will continue its eight-match homestand on Saturday against Rhodes at 2 p.m.