From Emory University Athletics
The Emory University volleyball team will be one of 64 teams
competing for the 2014 NCAA Championship. The Eagles are part of a
eight-team St. Louis Regional with Washington University serving as
the host institution.
Action begins on Friday (Nov. 14) with four first-round matches
with the second rounds being played on Saturday. The regional
championship will be played on Sunday (Nov. 17), with the winner
advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinal round of the championships in
Newport News, Virginia. The schedule for the St. Louis
Regional is as follows with times listed as Central
Standard.
FRIDAY, NOV. 14
Match 1 -- 12:30 pm – Millikin University vs. Thomas
More College
Match 2 – 3:00 pm -- Emory vs. Webster University
Match 3 -- 5:30 pm – Hendrix College vs. Maryville
College
Match 4 -- 8:00 pm – Washington University vs. Bluffton
University
SATURDAY, NOV. 15
Match 5 – 4:30 pm – Match 1 winner vs. Match 2
winner
Match 6 – 7:00 pm – Match 3 winner vs. Match 4
winner
SUNDAY, NOV. 16
4:00 pm – Championship Match
The Eagles of head coach Jenny McDowell earned an
automatic to the NCAAs for the 19th straight year
(program's 20th overall) after capturing the
University Athletic Association Championships for the fourth time
in the past six years. McDowell checks into the NCAA
Tournament with a school and career record of 613-142. She
has registered a 35-18 ledger in NCAA Tournament action (Emory's
all-time mark in the NCAA Tournament is 35-19).
The Eagles, seeded No. 2 in the Championships, defeated Rochester,
3-0, in the quarterfinals before upending Carnegie Mellon, 3-0, in
the semifinals. In the title match, Emory bested Chicago,
3-1. Emory enters the St. Louis Regional as the No. 1 seed.
Emory's opening-round NCAA opponent will be No. 8 seed
Webster University (22-12), who captured an automatic berth after
winning its fourth straight St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference. The Gorlocks will be making their eighth trip to
the NCAA Tournament, all of which have come under
14th year head coach Merry Graf. Emory has won the
only meeting between the schools, which came during the 2005
season.
A member of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin,
No. 23-ranked Millikin University (30-9) enters this weekend as the
No. 4 seed after landing an at-large bid to the postseason after
finishing runner-up to No. 14-ranked Carthage in the CCIW
Tournament finals. The Big Blue, led by 14th-year
head coach Debbie Kiick, are making their sixth NCAA Tournament
appearance and first since 2005. Emory stands 2-0 all-time
vs. Millikin with those victories coming during the 2005 and 2007
seasons.
Thomas More College (29-4) won the Presidents' Athletic Conference
(PAC) Championships for the third straight year to earn the
league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. This season
represents the Saints' 13th trip to the NCAA
Tournament. John Spinney is in his seventh year of his second
stint as the head volleyball coach at TMC. Emory stands 8-2
all-time vs. Thomas More with the last meeting take place in 2009
(3-0 Emory win).
Led by fourth-year head coach Ryan Meek, Hendrix College is on a
hot streak with wins in 16 of its last 17 matches, boosting its
overall record to 30-5. The Warriors, ranked No. 2 in the
South Region, earned their first-ever berth to the NCAA Tournament
after defeating Birmingham Southern, 3-1, in the finals of the
Southern Athletic Association Tournament. If the Eagles are
the Warriors were to square off, it would represent the first-ever
battle between the programs in volleyball.
Maryville will bring an 18-match winning streak into the St. Louis
Regional and is coming off a championship effort at the USA South
Tournament that allowed the Scots to capture the league's automatic
bid. Maryville will be making its 12th trip
to the NCAAs, the 10th under the watchful eye of
29th-year head coach Kandis Schram who has over 690
career wins to her credit. The Scots will match up with
Hendrix with an overall won-lost slate of 26-8 with their last
setback coming back on Sept. 26 vs. Emory. The Eagles
hold a 21-2 edge in the all-time series with Maryville.
The No. 5-ranked Bears of Washington University earned an at-large
spot in the Tournament following a third-place finish at the UAA
Championships. First-year head coach Vanessa Walby has guided
the program to an overall record of 33-5 and its
28th consecutive spot in the national
tourney. WU is no stranger to success in the NCAA Tournament
having won 10 national crowns, most recently in 2009. WU owns
a 50-9 edge in the all-time series vs. Emory and won a meeting
earlier this year, 3-2, at the UAA Round Robin II.
Bluffton enters the tournament with a 23-11 overall
record. The Beavers, directed by 10th-year head coach
Steve Yarnell, are making their sixth appearance in the NCAA
Tournament after winning the Heartland Collegiate Athletic
Conference (HCAC) crown for the second year in a row. Emory
has won the only meeting between the programs, that coming in
1998.