The Emory University volleyball team was unrelenting in their win at the 2024 United Athletic Association (UAA) Championship, losing only one set in the three-match tournament en route to a conference title. On the path to the championship game, No. 1-seeded Emory defeated the University of Rochester (N.Y.) 3-0 and the University of Chicago (UChicago) 3-1 on Nov. 15. The Eagles earned a 3-0 victory over Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) (Mo.) on Nov. 16 to clinch their 11th UAA title in program history.
Senior defensive specialist and libero Deborah Hong said that while it was “such a blessing” to be the No. 1 seed at UAAs, the team emphasized the importance of staying present going into the weekend.
“Our team is so competitive that if the other team gets a point, we tend to get down on ourselves a little bit,” Hong said. “The biggest thing that we wanted to emphasize this weekend was just … to keep playing our game no matter what and to keep pushing through and fighting for every point.”
Junior middle hitter Sophie Zerrouki knew Emory would be seen as the team to beat as the No. 1 seed, but she said the Eagles embraced the winning expectations that came with the ranking.
“There's always a target on our back, but we went in wanting to win, and that's exactly what we did,” Zerrouki said.
In their quarterfinal matchup against Rochester, which hosted the tournament, junior outside hitter and defensive specialist Kate LaRocco led Emory with 14 kills. Hong was also strong defensively in the match, piling up 18 digs. Importantly, the Eagles only committed eight errors to Rochester’s 17, allowing Emory to keep their opponents at bay throughout the three sets. The final set was the closest of the three, but the Eagles ultimately prevailed 25-23.
Emory’s semifinal bout against UChicago began a couple of hours after their quarterfinal victory. The Eagles took the first set but dropped the second after UChicago pulled out a strong set that included a 9-2 run. Emory nudged out a 25-23 third set win and then coasted to a 25-19 fourth set win, sending them to the championship match. Senior middle hitter Madison Cail’s 13 kills led the team, and Hong collected a staggering 40 digs across the four sets. Tenacious defense was the theme of the semifinals, with the Eagles finishing with 91 digs total.
While a dominant 3-0 scoreline does not accurately depict how close the UAA championship match was, the Eagles were able to weather the WashU storms and bring home hardware. Offensively, LaRocco built on her strong tournament with 15 kills, while junior setter Olivia Rabinowitz dished out 22 assists. In the first set, WashU led 23-22, but Emory stayed within reach of their opponent, making their move with three straight points to take the set 25-23.
The second set followed a similar back-and-forth pattern before the Eagles scored four straight points to establish a 17-15 lead. After going ahead in the set, Emory did not look back, holding a multiple-point lead to win 25-21. In the title-clinching third set, WashU jumped out to a 16-13 lead, taking six straight points off the Eagles at one point. Fighting the fatigue of a long tournament, Emory brought the score back to even at 21. The Eagles showed tremendous focus, taking four out of five points to win the third set 25-22 and claim the UAA championship.
Hong, LaRocco and Cail were all named to the All-UAA First Team, while Rabinowitz and senior right-side hitter Alana Dawson earned Second Team nods. Sophomore right-side hitter Sophia Luo received an honorable mention distinction and head coach Brianna Jones and her staff were recognized as the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year.
Following the conference championship victory, the team’s focus will now shift to the NCAA Division III (DIII) Women’s Volleyball Championship, where Emory will host Covenant College (Ga.) in the first round on Nov. 21. This marks the team’s 28th consecutive appearance in the national tournament, which is the second-longest current streak in DIII women’s volleyball.
Looking ahead, Hong said she believes this team has everything it takes to make a deep postseason run.
“No team can stand in our way as long as we believe and trust in ourselves,” Hong said.
When asked about her playoff outlook, Zerrouki’s answer was straightforward.
“We can win the national championship,” Zerrouki said.
