The volleyball team continued its winning ways at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Round Robin I this weekend, defeating all three teams it faced. The No. 4 ranked Eagles have steamrolled all of their opponents lately, earning an 11-game win streak that has them at an impressive record of 21-1.
The Round Robin was hosted by Case Western Reserve University (Ohio) and featured all of the UAA member squads. The Eagles played Carnegie Mellon University (Penn.) and New York University on Saturday, and battled Case Western on Sunday.
Head Coach Jenny McDowell commented that all three teams provided a worthy challenge for the high-flying Eagles.
"The UAA conference is improving every year," McDowell said. "One of our three goals is to win the UAA championship and this was a small step in that direction."
The Eagles began the Round Robin facing the 15-4 Carnegie Mellon Tartans. Behind a potent offensive attack, Emory defeated the Tartans in straight sets (25-15, 25-20, 25-13). Junior Kate Bowman paced the Eagles' .459 hitting percentage with a team-high 17 kills, while fellow junior Leah Jacobs finished with 10 kills.
The team's efforts defensively were equally strong, as the Eagles held the Tartans to a .127 hitting percentage. Also performing well in the match were sophomores Taylor Erwin, who finished with 11 digs, and Sydney Miles, who had 33 assists.
Emory continued its round robin play against the 17-1 New York University Violets. The Eagles rode a balanced attack to another straight-set victory (25-17, 25-13, 25-13), as both the offense and defense dominated the match. Jacobs and freshman Jessica Holler each finished with a team-high 10 kills, while Holler almost completed a double-double with nine blocks, a season-high for the squad. The Eagles' defense held the Violets' offense to a paltry hitting percentage of .057, while out-digging NYU 37-24.
Emory's final match was against their host, the Case Western Spartans, who entered the match 0-2 in conference play. The Eagles won again in straight-sets (25-18, 25-9, 25-21), as Emory won their tenth straight game. Junior Cat McGrath led the team with 10 kills, while Miles had seven kills to go along with her 31 assists. The Eagles outhit the Spartans .368 to .168, while barely carrying a 47-45 advantage in digs.
Coach McDowell was very happy with her team's performance. "It was a fantastic weekend for our team," she said. "I thought we played our best volleyball of the season."
She continued: "What's even more exciting is that we still can get so much better and I know the team is committed to doing so."
The Eagles return home tonight to face Lee University (Tenn.) at 7 p.m., as the squad looks to extend its impressive win streak and move further up in the national Division III rankings.
– By Ethan Morris
Photo courtesy of Emory Athletics
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