From Emory University Athletics
The No. 5-ranked Emory volleyball team has advanced to the
semifinals of the NCAA D-III Championships following a Friday
afternoon quarterfinal round victory over Williams College.
The Eagles boosted their winning streak to 13 matches and raised
their overall record to 38-3 following a 3-1 verdict (25-16, 25-16,
26-28, 25-17) over the Ephs who closed out their campaign with a
won-lost ledger of 28-5. The Championships are being held in
Newport News, Va., and hosted by Christopher Newport
University.
The Emory offense was firing on all cylinders throughout the
contest, hitting a season-high .453 (71-9—137) compared to
the Ephs' effort of .257 (50-12—148), the
39th time this year that the Eagles had outhit
their opposition. Emory's 71 terminations tied a season high
set earlier in the campaign vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor (Sept. 6).
Senior Leah Jacobs highlighted a balanced attack that saw
four players finish with double-digit kills totals, recording 21
successful attack attempts en route to finishing with a .559
hitting effort (21-2—34). It was Jacobs'
26th performance of 10 or more kills this season
and fifth of 20 or more. Jacobs also cracked the 1,000
career-kills plateau during the match and will enter Saturday's
action with 1,010 to her credit. Sophomore Jessica
Holler hit .407, her 18th match this year of
.400 or higher, pounding out a season-high tying 15 kills.
Senior Cat McGrath and sophomore Sarah
Maher came up big with the pair teaming up to hit .552 with 21
kills and no errors in 38 swings. McGrath blitzed the Ephs
with a .625 hitting afternoon (10-0—16) while Maher checked
in with a .500 showing (11-0—22), while also chipping in 14
digs.
Junior setter Sydney Miles kept the Eagles' offense
humming by doling out a season-high tying 56 assists, her eighth
match of 50 or more this season. Miles also added seven kills
and nine digs to the cause. Senior Kate Bowman led
all players with 21 digs, helping the Eagles to a 74-47 advantage
in that category, and in the process became the program's
single-season leader with 664, bettering the previous standard of
653 held by Taylor Erwin (2012).
Emory will meet No. 6-ranked UW-Stevens Point (33-4) in the semis
on Saturday starting at 5:00 p.m. The Pointers advanced to
the semis after battling to a 3-2 decision over
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the quarterfinals.
Set 1 – Emory hits a blistering .643 (18-0—28) and is
led by Jacobs who closes out the game with seven terminations while
Holler adds five … Holding an 11-9 lead, the Eagles go on a
7-1 spurt, with Jacobs coming up with two kills and an ace, that
stretches their cushion to 18-10 … Holler and Jacobs account
for the team's final four points of the set with two terminations
each to close out the game.
Set 2 – After picking up one kill in the first game,
sophomore Kathryn Trinka comes up with five terminatios
in helping Emory to a 2-0 lead in the match … The Eagles
continue with their hot hitting, notching a .412 percentage
(17-3—34) … The Ephs bolt out to a 7-2 lead following
a kill by Raea Rasmussen, but Emory responds with a 6-2 run that
cuts its deficit to one point … After Williams takes a 10-8
lead, the Eagles rattle off a 7-1 charge, with five different
players picking up kills, to take a 15-11 lead … After
Williams cuts the Emory lead to 15-13, the Eagles counter
with four unanswered points to claim a 19-13 lead … Holding
a 20-15 margin, the Emory closes out the set on a 5-1 run, capped
by a service ace by senior Olivia Volarich.
Set 3 – Jacobs hits .636 with seven kills and no errors in
11 attempts while McGrath chimes in with four terminations ..,
Emory leads by a 7-4 count but sees the Ephs post a 9-2 scoring
spurt that puts them ahead, 13-9 … Kills by Jacobs and Miles
help Emory battle back to deadlock the score at 16-16 …
Trailing by a 19-20 margin, a Jacobs kill and a service ace by
Holler key a 4-0 run that puts Emory ahead, 23-20 … Williams
regroups and scores the next three points, knotting things up at
23-23 .. An ace by the Ephs' Tori Jasuta gives WC set point at
26-25, but a kill by Maher keeps Emory alive … Williams
scores the next two points to force a fourth set.
Set 4 – Emory never trails in what proves to be the final set
of the match … A Miles kill caps a 4-0 Emory run, giving it
a 7-2 lead … After a Williams point, kills by McGrath and
Maher are part of a 3-0 spurt that extends the Eagles' lead to 10-3
… Emory holds a 13-5 advantage before Williams counters by
scoring eight of the next 10 points to creep within 15-13 …
Jacobs stems the Ephs' comeback bid with back-to-back kills that
doubles the Emory lead … The Eagles hold a 19-16 edge before
five straight points puts them one point from the match .. Claire
Miller keeps Williams alive with a kill but Holler concludes the
match with a successful attack attempt.