After a three-year absence from the national tournament, the women's volleyball team is back on the NCAA stage, hoping to capture the program's second-ever championship. After defeating all three of their opponents over the weekend, the seventh-ranked Eagles earned a spot in the Round of Eight next weekend at Hope College (Mich.).
As a result of their outstanding regular season, Emory was awarded the top seed in the NCAA Atlanta Regional Tournament, which the Eagles hosted from Friday through Sunday. Joining Emory in the field were two-seed Colorado College, three-seed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.), fourth-seed Berry, fifth-seed Washington & Lee (Va.), sixth-seed Thomas More (Kent.), seventh-seed Maryville (Tenn.) and eighth-seed Agnes Scott (Ga.).
The Eagles began play Friday night, facing the 11-17 Agnes Scott Scotties, who earned a place in the regionals after winning the Great South Athletic Conference Tournament. Emory quickly eliminated the Scotties from the field, displaying their offensive and defensive prowess in a straight-set victory (25-10, 25-10, 25-10). The Eagles hit .413, led by junior Kate Bowman's 10 kills, while holding the Scotties to a paltry hitting percentage of -.048.
Emory advanced to face the 26-7 Berry Vikings, who had defeated the Washington and Lee Generals in straight sets Friday evening. The two teams had played one another earlier in the season, when the Eagles defeated the Vikings 3-1. On Saturday, Emory again defeated Berry, once more winning 3-1 (25-13, 15-25, 25-20, 25-13). Led by the 36 kills from the trio of juniors – Bowman, Leah Jacobs and Cat McGrath – Emory outhit Berry .269 to .081.
The Vikings, behind a well-traveling crowd, won the second set and held a lead in the third set before the Eagles were able to close the deal and win the match.
"The first set we came out rolling; we came out really confident," Coach Jenny McDowell said. "Berry just picked up their game in the second set. It was really neat to see our team turn it around."
McGrath, when asked to describe her outstanding performance in the match, deferred the attention to the team and its goals.
"We played for each other, right now I think we are all playing for Sarah (Taub, senior)," McGrath said. "We really want to take her to the next step."
In the regional championships, Emory met the talented 35-4 Colorado College Tigers, who advanced to the regional championship after defeating 24-15 Maryville in the first round and 25-6 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the semifinals. The two teams had only met once before this past weekend.
Emory's young talent performed very well in the big game, as the Eagles won the match 3-1 (25-17, 19-25, 25-13, 25-14). Freshman Jessica Holler finished with a season-high 16 kills, while fellow freshman Sarah Maher also had 10 kills in the match. Bowman had a balanced game, finishing with nine kills and 11 digs, while sophomore Taylor Erwin had yet another 20-dig effort.
After winning the first set, the Eagles dropped the second set, and then responded immediately, making it look easy in the final two sets. Coach McDowell said the Eagles made a defensive adjustment after the second set, after which the team began to roll.
"Our team did an unbelievable job being focused on exactly our game plan," McDowell said. "We never lost our focus."
McDowell also praised junior Leah Jacobs.
"Leah did an amazing job leading in kills and blocks at the net, but [it was] a total team effort," McDowell said.
Jacobs was quick to praise all aspects of the Eagles' team.
"The offense obviously gets the glory, but it trickles back to every level," she said. "[Sophomore] Sydney Miles is honestly the nation's best setter. She controls the offense like no other. Our defense did an unbelievable job."
By winning the regional tournament, Emory advances to the NCAA National Tournament and will face No. 17-ranked Eastern University (Pa.), which enters the match with a record of 32-4. The tournament will be held on the campus of Hope College.
Jacobs alluded to how special of a victory this was for the entire squad, as the Eagles had not reached the NCAA tournament since 2010.
"For the freshmen, this is a new experience for them, but this is also a new experience for the upperclassmen," she said. "We've never made it onto the national tournament. It's really hard to take on the regional finals."
– By Ethan Morris
Photo courtesy of Emory Athletics
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