The Emory University volleyball team won all three games last weekend at the Vikings Classic in Mount Berry, Ga. to improve their season record to 11-1. Over the three matches, the team only dropped two sets and extended their winning streak to seven games.
The Eagles faced Covenant College (Ga.) first on Sept. 20. The team built momentum in the first set, winning 25-10. Covenant took the second set 25-21, but the Eagles came back in the third and fourth sets, winning both to claim a 3-1 win. Junior outside hitter Kate LaRocco led the Eagles with 12 kills against Covenant, and senior middle hitter Madison Cail had 10 kills and six blocks.
Later that night, the Eagles beat Berry College (Ga.) 3-1. The Eagles took the first set once again with a score of 25-12 but dropped the second set 25-15. The third set was close, but six points from LaRocco and junior middle hitter Sophie Zerrouki sealed a 25-23 win. The Eagles cemented the victory with a 23-17 fourth-set win.
While the team posted dominant wins on Sept. 20, LaRocco said the team is looking to improve on consistency throughout matches after dropping the second sets against both Covenant and Berry.
“We didn't want to have too many expectations of them being too good or too easy but we went in thinking that we were going to win,” LaRocco said. “Won the first set, and in our second sets, we tended to get down and we lost them. But then in the sets after we pushed through and we are able to play over our mistakes.”
On Sept. 21, the Eagles faced Centre College (Ky.) in their final game of the Vikings Classic. Emory swept all three sets to win 3-0 and remain undefeated throughout the weekend. Senior outside hitter Jessica Majka had 11 kills in the game, and Cail had 10 kills. As a whole, the team had a .442 hitting percentage during the matchup.
The volleyball team is currently ranked No. 7 in the country. Cail attributed the team’s success to strong leadership and coaching that focuses on behind-the-scenes aspects of the game, like scouting. Cail also said that the team’s strong bonds improves the team’s overall play.
“When you see us playing, I could describe it as synergy,” Cail said. “All of the jokes and all the fun that we have traveling, hanging out, really transfers onto the court.”
The team will face its first University Athletic Association (UAA) competition in New York against Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) on Sept. 28. LaRocco said she is excited for the upcoming UAA matchups.
“We definitely want to go in with a good mindset thinking that we're gonna win but not being too overconfident in ourselves knowing that every team we play is gonna be very good competition,” LaRocco said.
Cail echoed LaRocco’s sentiments of relishing the UAA competition, noting that the next few weeks will be pivotal for the team’s national ranking.
“We just love getting to play these teams because they're so similar academically,” Cail said. “We're all going through rigorous coursework at the same time as being a part of really successful teams. So that combination obviously helps us respect our competition a lot and relate to them, and it's always really fun to compete against them.”
