The No. 8-ranked Emory volleyball team opened its 2013 season with an impressive weekend of victories. On Friday afternoon, the women topped No. 1-ranked and defending NCAA D-III champion University of St. Thomas (Minn.) at the Courtyard Marriott Invitational hosted by Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio.
On Saturday, the Eagles followed this win with a victory over No. 3-ranked host Wittenberg University. Just a few hours later, the team closed out their successful weekend with a win over Johns Hopkins University (Md.) in the final match of the Invitational.
"We could not have started off our season any better than we did this weekend," freshman right side hitter Maggie Collins said. "What I really loved about this weekend was our team's intensity. We showed how ready and committed we are to winning a national championship within these next few exciting months."
The Eagles closed out their seventh straight season-opening win by beating the St. Thomas Tommies 3-2, (25-22, 25-20, 20-25, 16-25, 15-11). Junior outside hitter Leah Jacobs led three Emory women in recording double-figure strikes with a career-high of 16 terminations.
Meanwhile, freshman middle blocker Jessica Holler totaled 14 successful attacks.
Junior middle hitter/outside hitter Kate Bowman picked up 13 kills and put in 14 digs.
"We are a completely new team this year," Bowman said. "We have a great combination of returners' experience and incoming freshman talent. Our team dynamic is really fun and hardworking. I think that'll allow us to go far in the NCAA tournament."
Collins and junior right side hitter/middle hitter Cat McGrath fought together at the net and proved to be forces to be reckoned with, totaling six and five blocks, respectively. The two played a key role in limiting the Tommies hitting percentage to .142, and .071 in the decisive fifth game.
Junior setter Sydney Miles dealt out 42 assists, while sophomore libero Taylor Erwin topped all players with 27 digs.
"One of the primary reasons we were able to defeat the No. 1- and No.3-ranked teams this weekend is because we worked really hard in the preseason and tried to put a lot of emphasis on team chemistry," Bowman said. "We had eight incoming freshman and eight returners. The returners have worked to incorporate the freshman to become one truly cohesive unit."
On Saturday morning, the women upped their overall record to 2-0 following their 3-1 decision (21-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-23) over the Tigers, who slipped to 1-1.
The junior duo, consisting of McGrath and Jacobs, ignited the Emory effort with McGrath completing a career-best of 17 kills and registering a .433 hitting percentage. To top it all off, she contributed five block assists and a pair of digs. With the same intensity, Jacobs turned in a second straight career best outing with a match-best of 19 terminations and a final .295 hitting performance.
"We have a group of 16 completely unselfish players who will do whatever is necessary for the team's success. I absolutely love this group," Head Coach Jenny McDowell said.
Freshman Sarah Maher rounded out the double-digit terminators on Saturday morning with 10 successful attacks. Miles put in 47 assists and 11 digs while Erwin topped all players with 21 digs.
The Eagles concluded the contest with an edge in hitting percentage, recording a .222 effort (62-25–167); much stronger in comparison to the Tigers' .184 (48-19–158). The Emory women held a 79-68 edge in digs while both teams totaled nine total blocks.
"Our new assistant coach, Eric Snyder, has done an amazing job of implementing a new blocking and defensive scheme," McDowell said. "It is exciting to watch our team improve in these two areas, and I think we will continue to get better. We all completely believe in his system, and I know it has made us a better team in such a short time."
Finally, at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, the Eagles boosted their record even higher up to 3-0 over the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays, who fell 0-2.
In this final game of the Invitational, Emory showed a solid defensive effort, limiting their opponent to a .061 attack percentage. The women had a solid 66-53 cushion in digs.
"I believe our depth is one of our primary strengths," McDowell said. "Every single one of our players is able to step in at any point in a match and make a difference. This will be key as we continue along in the season."
McGrath ended a productive weekend with a team-high of 10 kills, along with a .381 hitting performance. Maher added nine kills to the tally, and Bowman chipped in eight successful attacks.
"I'm really excited for the season and couldn't be happier that it got off on such a great start," Bowman said.
"Now we just need to focus on continually improving in practice and every time we play."
To cap off the victory, Miles doled out 35 assists and both she and freshman middle blocker Shannon Nugent dealt out a team lead of four blocks.
The Eagles will be back on the courts Friday and Saturday when they partake in the Randolph-Macon Tournament. The first major home game will take place the following weekend.
– By Nicola Braginsky
Photo by Andy Ie
