Last weekend, the No. 3-ranked Emory women’s volleyball team ventured to Cleveland, Ohio to take part in the second University Athletic Association (UAA) Round Robin tournament of the season.
The Eagles’ opening act for the weekend pitted them against the No. 1-ranked Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.). The matchup was a defining moment so far for the team, as the Eagles battled to a victory despite giving up the first two sets 25-23 and 25-17, respectively. Behind a slew of early set points the Eagles jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the third set. The cushion that Emory earned proved to be the difference as the opposing Bears nearly evened up the score at 24 before the Eagles notched the set-clinching point.
WashU was unable to record near the end of the fourth set and three consecutive attack errors from the Bears gave the Eagles a 25-20 win, pushing the match to a decisive fifth set. In the tiebreaking set, the Eagles again jumped out to a 4-0 lead and steered themselves to an impressive comeback win, upsetting the top team in the nation.
Junior outside hitter Kathryn Trinka matched her career high kill total over the course of the match, hammering 15 successful kills out of 50 attempts. Senior setter Sydney Miles was on the front half of many kills collecting 44 assists. She also notched eight digs on defense.
Following the tough win against the Bears, the rest of the weekend was a breeze for the Eagles as they swept the University of Rochester (N.Y.), New York University, and the University of Chicago.
Carrying a record of 26 wins and two losses, both of which came consecutively in mid-September, the Eagles look ahead to this weekend when they are scheduled to host the Emory Invitational.
They will test their new No. 2 ranking on Friday, facing Bridgewater College (Va.) and then Juniata College (Pa.), the team that has replaced Wash U. as No. 1 in the nation. On Saturday, the Eagles will play Millsaps College (Miss.) and No. 17 -ranked Clarkson College (Neb.).
