From Emory University Athletics
The No. 3-ranked Emory volleyball captured a pair of matches on the first day of action at the University Athletic Association Round Robin II in Cleveland, Ohio. The Eagles opened with a dramatic 3-2 come-from-behind triumph over No. 1 Washington University (23-25, 17-25, 25-22, 25-20, 15-8) before registering a 3-0 win (25-15, 25-15, 26-24) over the University of Rochester. The Eagles have won their last 12 outings and stand 24-2 in overall play, 5-0 inn UAA action.
After seeing the top-ranked Bears hit .300 en route to taking a 2-0 edge in the match, the Eagles' defense stiffened over the final three sets, limiting WU to a .123 percentage (31-19—97). Emory ended the contest hitting .199 (51-23—141), just the third time during the year it finished less than .200, while WU registered a .198 (62—29—167) mark. Emory held a 71-59 margin in digs while the Bears maintained a 13-10 advantage in total blocks. Junior Kathryn Trinka led all players with 15 kills while freshman Karissa Dzurik added 12 terminations, four coming in the decisive fifth game. In the final set, Emory never trailed, racing out to a 4-0 lead and holding an 8-5 cushion when teams switched sides.
The Bears trailed by a 10-8 count following an Emory attacking error, but saw the Eagles close out the set and the match with five unanswered points, with Dzurik accounting for three kills in that stretch. Juniors Sarah Maher and Jessica Holler each contributed nine successful attack attempts, with Holler pacing all players with a season-high eight total (1-7) blocks. Senior setter Sydney Miles doled out 44 assists and added eight digs while freshman Becky Breuer and juniorSheridan Rice tied for team honors with 13 digs.
Following the outcome over Wash U, the Eagles stymied the Rochester offensive attack, holding the Yellowjackets to a .037 (29-25—107) hitting percentage while chalking up a .266 (38-13—94) effort. Maher topped all players with 11 kills, her 14th double-figure effort of the campaign, and closed out the match hitting .409 (11-2—22). Trinka and Dzurik added 10 and nine successful attack attempts, respectively, to the cause while Sydney Miles finished with 32 assists along with a season-best three service aces. Breuer helped the team to a 47-39 advantage in digs with a team-high 12.