From Emory University Athletics
The No. 5-ranked Emory volleyball team has advanced to the
finals of the NCAA D-III Championships for the third time in school
history following a thrilling Saturday evening semifinal-round
victory over No. 6 Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The Eagles boosted
their winning streak to 14 matches and raised their overall record
to 39-3 following a 3-1 verdict (26-24, 18-25, 25-18, 27-25) over
the Pointers who closed out their campaign with a won-lost ledger
of 33-5. The Championships are being held in Newport News,
Va., and hosted by Christopher Newport University.
Senior Leah Jacobs continued her
exceptional postseason play, leading all players with 21 kills and
finishing with a fine hitting percentage of .309
(21-4—55). Her performance vs. UWSP represented her
sixth outing of the year with 20 or more terminations while her
attack attempts were her second-highest total. The sophomore
tandem of Sarah Maherand Kathryn
Trinka each registered 12 kills with Trinka posting a
season-high .423 hitting performance (12-1—26) and Maher a
.333 mark (12-2—30). Junior setter Sydney
Miles closed out the contest with her second consecutive
outing of a season-high tying 56 assists, while also coming up with
a team-high five (1-4) total blocks. Senior
libero Kate Bowman spearheaded a strong
defensive showing with a career-high 32 digs that tied the
fourth-highest individual match total in school history.
Sophomore Sheridan Rice added a career-high
25 digs as Emory finished the match with a 92-85 advantage in that
category.
Emory turned in a hitting mark of .275 (65-16—178)
compared to the Pointers' .205 (59-21—185), the
40th time this year that the Eagles
had outhit their opposition.
After splitting the first two sets, Emory found itself behind
the eight ball in the third game, trailing UWSP by an 11-6
margin. Facing a 13-10 deficit, the Eagles rattled off four
unanswered points, with sophomore Jessica
Holler and Jacobs coming through with kills, to take a
14-13 lead. Emory led by a point, 16-15, before going on a
well-timed 4-0 run to take a 20-15 advantage. UWSP closed to
the gap to 21-18 before the Eagles accounted for the last four
points of the set to take a 2-1 match lead.
Emory got out of the blocks quickly in the fourth set,
holding five-point leads on four occasions, the latest being an
18-13 cushion following a Pointers' service error. UWSP
bounced to tie the game at 19-19 after a 6-1 blitz, and the game
was tied at 20-20 before a kill by Jacobs followed by a Miles ace,
put the Eagles up by two points. A kill by Jacobs, pushed the
Eagles to a 23-21 lead but the Pointers used kills by Gabby Thomas
and Alexis Hartman to knot the score at 23-23. A kill
by McGrath put Emory at match point, but UWSP countered with two
consecutive points that had it serving for the game and to stay
alive in the match. However, a service error by the Pointers
opened the door for Emory, which it took advantage of as an attack
error by UWSP followed by a kill by Trinka closed out the match in
Emory's favor.
Emory will battle No. 2-ranked Hope College (33-2) in
Monday's national championship match that will begin at 1:00
pm. The Flying Dutch earned their way into the title contest
after dispatching No. 1 Calvin by a 3-0 score.
Emory's other appearances in the national championship
contest came in 2008 when it beat La Verne for the title and in
2010 when it finished runner-up to Calvin.