The volleyball team has been the story of Emory's 2013 fall season so far, winning their first seven matches – all on the road – to soar up the national rankings from No. 8 to No. 2. Fans got their first chance to watch the Eagles play last weekend at the Emory Classic, which featured four matches against top-tier competition over two days. The Eagles lost their undefeated season with a loss in the final match against Cal Lutheran University (Calif.) but still emerged from the weekend with an impressive 3-1 record in the tourney and a 10-1 mark for the season.
The 6-3 Millsaps College (Miss.) Majors were the Eagles' first opponents, opening up the tournament on Friday at 3 p.m. Emory had never lost to the Majors before and were hardly threatened in the series' latest installment, cruising to a 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-18) victory.
Emory dominated all aspects of the match, posting a .277 hitting percentage and limiting Millsaps to an unbelievably low .000. The Eagles had 12 blocks to the Majors' five, a 39-25 advantage in digs and a 6-0 edge in aces, very much justifying their No. 2 national ranking.
Junior Cat McGrath continued her strong play, leading the team with eight kills and a .545 hitting percentage. Freshman Maggie Collins led with five blocks, while sophomore Taylor Erwin contributed 13 digs.
It wasn't much harder for the Eagles against the No.12-ranked Christopher Newport University (Va.) Captains. CNU held strong early, winning the second set and forcing a 1-1 tie, but the Eagles swept the final two for a 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-14, 25-18) victory.
Emory once again held a significant advantage in hitting percentage, attacking at a .272 rate while the Captains hit at .097. Junior Kate Bowman posted her fourth double-double of the season with a team-high 16 kills, while McGrath led with seven blocks and posted another solid hitting percentage of .407. Erwin almost doubled her dig total from the opening match, topping out at 23.
Saturday's matches proved a bit tougher for the Eagles. They opened against the Southwestern University (Texas) Pirates, once again splitting the first two sets to make the score 1-1. Emory appeared to be in trouble in the third set, falling behind 15-5. They staged an impressive rally but still trailed 24-20 on the verge of losing the match lead. After notching four straight points, the Eagles outscored the Pirates 4-1 to clinch the set.
They carried that momentum into the game's fourth set, cruising to a 10-point victory and winning the match 3-1 (28-26, 15-25, 28-26, 25-17). Freshman Jessica Holler came up big for the Eagles, leading the team with 15 kills, including a key pair in the decisive third set. McGrath led with six blocks, while Erwin posted a tournament-high 28 digs.
The stat sheet reflected the even battle between the two teams, but Emory still held a .147 to .064 advantage in hitting percentage. The Eagles had 11 blocks to the Pirates' 10, but did trail 85-80 in digs.
The Eagles finally met their match against the Cal Lutheran Regals in a battle of top 10 squads, but the match's 3-0 final score doesn't accurately reflect the closeness of the battle. The first set went back and forth before being deadlocked at 23-23, but the Regals managed to win the last two points and squeaked out a 1-0 lead.
The second set played out much like the first. The Eagles held a 23-22 lead, but the Regals continued their clutch play and scored the final three points of the set. CLU led 18-15 and pulled away to 25-15 final and the match victory.
It was the only game of the tournament in which the Eagles were outhit by their opponent. Emory hit at a .144 rate, while the Regals posted a .271 hitting percentage. The Eagles did manage a 5-3 edge in blocks. Bowman once again led the team in kills, while Erwin finished a strong tournament, contributing 13 digs.
Emory narrowly missed out on an 11-0 record, which would have been the best start in program history. Now, both the Regals and the Eagles are 10-1 on the season.
The win also completed an undefeated run through the Classic for the Regals. Emory's 3-1 record was good for second place, while the remaining teams all finished 1-3.
McGrath and sophomore Sydney Miles were both named to the Emory Classic All-Tournament team, while the MVP award went to CLU's Hayley Tamagni.
The Classic was the first of a series of home tournaments for the Eagles. They'll host the Emory Invitational this weekend, followed by the Emory Tournament the weekend after.
– By Ryan Smith
Photo by Andy Ie
