The volleyball team's impressive season came to end this past weekend as the Eagles were defeated in the national semifinals match by the No. 1-ranked Calvin College (Mich.) Knights.
The No. 7 ranked Eagles advanced to the national semifinals after winning the Atlanta Regionals and defeating No. 17-ranked Eastern University (Pa.) in the NCAA quarterfinals. The Eagles finished the season with a record of 34-5.
The Knights proved to be too tall a task for the Eagles, as the Knights rolled to a 3-0 straight-set victory, advancing to the National Championship where they defeated Cal-Lutheran (Calif.) 3-2 to win their second championship in four years.
The match between Emory and Calvin began at 5 p.m. on Friday at host Hope College in Holland, Michigan.
The Eagles and Knights began the first set battling back and forth to a score of 10-10. After that point, the Knights turned up the pressure, going on a 15-7 run to win the set 25-17. Leading the Eagles efforts in the first set were juniors Cat McGrath and Kate Bowman as well as freshman Jessica Holler. Each finished the set with three kills apiece.
In the second set, Emory and Calvin were evenly matched, as the Eagles were tied with the Knights at one point with a score of 12-12. The Eagles would continue to display their toughness and resilience, as Calvin went up 22-18 before Emory cut it to a two-point deficit.
The Knights managed to shut the door on the Eagles, winning the set 25-21. Sophomore Maggie Kamp's seven kills led Calvin to the set victory.
With their backs up against the wall, the Eagles did not give up and continued to battle with the talented Knights. In the third set, Emory quickly went up on Calvin 6-4 behind two early kills from McGrath. The Knights fought back behind Kamp and senior Megan Rietema, and took the lead 13-11.
Behind two quick kills from Bowman, followed by another three kills from Holler, the Eagles took the Knights all the way to a 21-21 tie. Unfortunately for the Emory squad, they would score only one more point the rest of the way, as the Knights closed out the set and the match with a 25-22 win. Coach Jenny McDowell praised the Eagles' outstanding effort.
"We didn't bring our 'A' game in the semifinals but it wasn't for a lack of effort," she said. "We gave it our best, we just didn't execute the way we needed to against a great team like Calvin."
The match was one of the few times all season in which the Eagles were out-hit by their opponent – Emory hit .206 while Calvin exposed a usually stout Emory defense with a .333 hitting percentage.
Leading Emory's offense was Holler who finished with nine kills, in addition to her four blocks, as well as sophomore Sydney Miles who had 26 assists.
The trio of juniors McGrath, Bowman, and Leah Jacobs finished with eight, seven and seven kills respectively. The Knights also led in digs 54-40, another category that the Eagles normally take.
Leading Calvin's impressive offensive attack were Kamp, who finished with 20 kills, and Rietema, who had eight kills along with 29 assists.
Coach McDowell remained positive in describing her team's season despite the fact that the squad did not reach the championships.
"It was an incredible season! We were one of the final four teams in the nation, and I am so proud of our team," McDowell wrote in an email to the Wheel.
Even though the Eagles did not reach the finals, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the upcoming season.
"The future is incredibly bright for this team," McDowell wrote. "We return 15 of 16 players, but we will have to work even harder this spring to take it to the next level and I know our team is ready to do it!"
– By Ethan Morris
Photo courtesy of Emory Athletics
