From Emory University Athletics
The No. 5-ranked Emory volleyball team opened NCAA Tournament
play at the St. Louis Regional on a successful note Friday evening
with a victory over Webster University. The Eagles, seeded
No. 1 in the Regional, captured their 10th straight
match and boosted their overall record to 35-3 following a 3-0
decision (25-19, 25-16, 25-22) over the eighth-seeded Gorlocks who
closed out their season at 22-13.
Emory hit .221 (44-15—131) in the contest compared to
Webster's mark of .100 (31-19—120), the
36th time this season it has enjoyed the advantage
in attack percentage. Each team finished with 62 digs while
the Gorlocks recorded an 8-4 edge in total blocks.
Senior Cat McGrath, returning to her hometown, led the Eagles'
offensive attack with a season-high 14 kills while turning in a
blistering hitting effort of .650 (14-1—20), which represents
the high-water mark by an Emory player this season. It was
McGrath's sixth outing of double-figure terminations in 17 matches
this season and the first time she paced the team in that
department. Sophomore Jessica Holler was the other
Emory performer to chalk up double-figure kills, finishing with
10. Senior Leah Jacobs and sophomore Kathryn
Trinka each chipped in seven terminations. Junior
setter Sydney Miles doled out 39 assists while
senior Kate Bowman led all players with 16 digs, upping
her season total to 599.
The victory sends Emory into second-round action where it will meet
Thomas More College (30-4) on Saturday at 4:30 pm (CST). The
Saint bested Millikin University, 3-2, earlier on Friday in
first-round play.
Set 1 – The teams split the first 18
points of the set before a 5-1 Emory spurt gives it a 14-10
lead. Emory leads by an 18-13 count before the Gorlocks score
three straight points to narrow its deficit to just two
points. The Eagles answer with a 4-0 charge, highlighted by
kills from sophomore Sarah
Maher and Trinka that gives them a 22-16 cushion. Holding a
23-19 advantage Emory uses kills by Holler (her fourth of the set)
and McGrath (her fifth) to close out the game, 25-19.
Set 2 – As in the first set, both teams
battle each other on even terms in the early stages with a kill by
Webster's Rachel Nelson knotting the score at 12-12. Emory
takes control with an 8-1 run, with Jacobs posting two terminations
in the spurt, to bolt to a 20-13 lead. After a Webster point, the
Eagles score the next three points of the set to take a commanding
23-14 lead. A service ace by senior Olivia
Volarich closes out the game that sees Emory take a 2-0 lead
in the match. Emory holds Webster to a .000 attack percentage
(8-8—37) in the second set. Holler posts four
terminations in the second game.
Set 3 - Webster trails by an 8-5 score before tallying four unanswered points to take a 9-8 advantage. The Eagles use kills by Holler and Miles as part of a 3-0 spurt that puts them ahead by a 15-13 margin. The Gorlocks respond with a 6-0 blitz that features a pair of service aces, a kill by Rachel Nelson and two block assists and a block solo from Nelson to lay claim to a 19-15 lead. Emory roars back by accounting for nine of the set's next 10 points, with McGrath and Jacobs coming through with three kills each, to assume a 24-20 advantage. After a pair of Webster points, McGrath fittingly closes out the evening with her 14th kill of the evening to seal the outcome.