From Emory University Athletics
The No. 6-ranked Emory volleyball team will play for the
University Athletic Association Championship on Saturday following
an impressive performance against host Carnegie Mellon in Friday's
semifinals. The Eagles captured their eighth straight triumph and
boosted their overall record to 33-3 following a 3-0 outcome
(25-16, 25-12, 25-20) over the Tartans who fell to
22-10.
Emory turned in an exceptional defensive performance,
limiting a CMU team that had been hitting .199 entering the weekend
to just .051 (27-21—118), while finishing a .262 effort
(43-15—107). It marked the
34th time this season that the Eagles
had enjoyed an advantage in that category. Emory spread out
its offensive attack with five players registering seven or more
kills, led by sophomore Sarah Maher who led
all players with nine terminations en route to finishing with a
.474 hitting mark (9-0—19). Maher also came through with a
season-high 10 digs that ranked as the No. 2 effort on the
squad.
Sophomore Jessica Holler totaled eight kills, a .500
attack percentage (8-1—14) and three block assists. The trio
of senior Leah Jacobs, classmate Cat McGrath and
sophomore Kathryn Trinka all chipped in seven kills with
Trinka adding a team-high five blocks (1-4), helping Emory to a
10-7 margin in that category. Junior setter Sydney Miles, who
earlier in the day surpassed the 4,000 career-assists plateau,
doled out 33 against CMU, boosting her total to 4,040, good for
third place on the program's all-time chart. Senior Kate
Bowman led all players with 15 digs.
Emory, seeded No. 2 in the Championships, will meet No. 5 seed
Chicago (26-11) in the title showdown on Saturday starting at 1:00
pm. The Maroons advanced to the finals after upended top seeded and
No. 5-ranked Washington University in the finals. It marks the
11th straight year that Emory will be competing for
the conference crown. Chicago defeated Emory by a 3-1 count in last
year's championship tilt.