The Eagles dominated the home court Friday and Saturday, winning all four games and losing only one set during last weekend’s Emory Invitational.
Emory’s No. 6 ranked volleyball team swept its games against Randolph-Macon College (Va.) and Elmhurst College (Ill.) on Friday and remained victorious over Maryville College (Tenn.) and Williams College (Mass.) on Saturday. The Eagles’ wins contributed to their impressive 15-2 record on the season.
“I think the strength of this team is that we have a lot of depth,” Head Coach Jenny McDowell said. “All 17 people are able to go in there and make a difference.”
In the first game of the Invitational, the Eagles bested Randolph-Macon 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-9). Sophomore middle hitter/outside hitter Kate Bowman led the Eagles with 13 kills. Freshman setter Sydney Miles contributed 32 assists, while freshman libero Taylor Erwin and sophomore outside hitter Cami Silverman totaled nine and seven digs each.
The team followed up their first victory of the night with another win versus Elmhurst, topping the Blue Jays 3-1.
“We played fairly well,” McDowell said after the games on Friday night. “I was really pleased with the team effort.”
The Eagles’ second game of the night was more challenging than the first. They won the first two sets, 25-20 and 25-14, but dropped the third at 17-25. The Eagles came back strong against the Blue Jays in the fourth set with a 25-20 win.
Senior captain and middle hitter Breanah Bourque led the team with 17 kills. Miles again aided the Eagles, this time with 40 assists. Erwin led with 18 digs, followed by Bowman and Silverman, with 15 and 13 apiece.
McDowell commented that the Eagles used more than just their starting lineup Friday night and planned to do so on Saturday as well.
“We’re going to use our depth to our advantage tomorrow and try to get some more people in to play,” McDowell said.
The Eagles relied on their depth to remain undefeated at the Emory Invitational with a doubleheader against Maryville and Williams on Saturday. Winning not only every game but also every set, the Eagles finished 3-0 against Maryville (25-20, 25-15, 25-20) and Williams (25-17, 25-16, 25-23).
Facing off against the Maryville Scots in close sets, Bourque produced 12 kills, followed by senior co-captain and middle hitter Alex Duhl with nine and Silverman with 12. Miles again led the way with assists at 22. Erwin gave the most digs at 13, while Silverman finished the game with 10.
The final game of the Emory Invitational was a high note for the Eagles. Tired yet persistent, they won the match, sweeping all three sets. Bowman led with 17 attacks, aided by Miles with 35 assists and Erwin and Silverman with nine digs each.
“I think we’re in a really good place right now,” said McDowell. “We’re a much better team than we were three or four weeks ago.”
An integral part of the team’s success lies on the shoulders of Erwin, the Eagles’ libero, or defensive specialist. Erwin led in number of digs for every game at the Invitational this weekend.
“We knew that when Taylor Erwin decided to come to Emory, she was going to make our team better,” McDowell said. “But I think what has really been a huge asset to our team is how well all of our defensive players work together. Cami Silverman, Kate Bowman, Sarah Taub and Taylor Erwin, the four of them work so well together. I think that’s the reason we’re so much better than last year on the defensive end of things.”
Erwin insists that it is the Eagles’ determination that has led them to their many successes this season.
“We never quit,” Erwin said. “At the end of a tournament when everyone is exhausted, our team is still able to fight it out and win.”
Fight and win is exactly what the Eagles did, going undefeated in all four of their games.
Sophomore middle hitter Cat McGrath and Duhl landed spots on the Emory Invitational All-Tournament Team, with fellow Emory team member, Bourque, claiming the title MVP.
“We really gutted it out,” McDowell said about the weekend. “I was really proud of them.”
The Eagles look to defend home court again with consecutive games against Birmingham-Southern College (Ala.) and Lee University (Tenn.) this Tuesday.
The first game starts at 4 p.m. and will be held at the Woodruff P.E. Center.
– By Jenna Kingsley
The Emory Wheel was founded in 1919 and is currently the only independent, student-run newspaper of Emory University. The Wheel publishes weekly on Wednesdays during the academic year, except during University holidays and scheduled publication intermissions.
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