From Carnegie Mellon University Athletics
The Carnegie Mellon University volleyball team returned to University Athletic Association (UAA) action on Saturday, October 17 after a week off of competition. The Tartans used the rest to their advantage and defeated New York University (NYU), 3-0, and 15th-ranked University of Chicago, 3-1, at the UAA Volleyball Round Robin #2.
The Tartans (21-4, 3-2) began the day with the 3-0 victory against NYU with set scores of 25-18, 25-19, and 25-21. The Tartans hit .216 for the match with freshman Sarah Jurgens (Eagan, Minn./Eagan) leading the team with 10 kills. Junior Emily Newton (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Chadwick School) put up 38 assists and recorded two of the team's six service aces. Defensively, junior Molly Higgins (Vero Beach, Fla./Vero Beach) led with 15 digs while freshman Lauren Mueller (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown SIEM Academy) led the team at the net with three block assists.
Against the 15th-ranked Maroons, the Tartans hit .262 and had four players with double-digit kills. The Tartans won the first two sets by 25-23 and 25-22 scores before Chicago forced the fourth set with a 25-21 win. The Cardinal and Gray then turned out a 25-10 performance to win the match.
Mueller was powerful with 17 kills while Jurgens hit .429 with 13 kills. Junior Jackie Gibbons (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) was on point in the middle, as she hit .611 with 12 kills. Freshman Sydney Bauer (Allen, Texas/Allen) was the fourth player with double-digit kills with 10 for the match. Newton was the beneficiary of all those kills with a career-high 54 assists.
Higgins picked up a career-high 37 digs while senior Taylor Bell (Shelby Township, Mich./Detroit Country Day School) collected 14 digs. At the net, Gibbons, Newton and sophomore Eliza Donohue (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) each had two block assists.
"It was a great start to the second round robin," said head coach Kim Kelly. "We came out strong and played with a will to win. Our defense picked up a lot of good balls and our offense was able to keep the other teams out of system."