The No. 8-ranked Emory volleyball team begins the 'second season' of its schedule this Friday and Saturday (Nov. 4-5) when it competes at the University Athletic Association Championships. Serving as the host of this year's event will be Washington University.
The Eagles of head coach Jenny McDowell, 27-5 overall, enter the Championships as the No. 2 seed with a league mark of 6-1. Emory's opening-round foe will be No. 7 seed New York University (15-14, 1-6) with that bout taking place at noon on Friday. The winner of that contest advances to the semifinals later that day to meet the winner of the Wash U (#3 seed) vs. Case Western Reserve (#6 seed) clash. The championship match is slated for a 1:00 pm start on Saturday, with the winner earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA D-III Tournament. Below is schedule of the UAA Championships.
Friday, Nov. 4
12:00 pm – Match A – Chicago vs. Brandeis
12:00 pm – Match D – Emory vs. NYU
2:00 pm – Match B – Carnegie Mellon vs. Rochester
2:00 pm – Match C – Washington University vs. Case Western
4:00 pm -- Match G – Winner of Match A vs. Winner of Match B
4:00 pm – Match H – Winner of Match C vs. Winner of Match D
6:00 pm -- Match E – Loser of Match A vs. Loser of Match B
6:00 pm – Match F – Loser of Match C vs. Loser of Match D
Saturday, Nov. 5
10:00 am – 7th place match – Loser of Match E vs. Loser of Match F
10:00 am – 5th place match – Winner of Match E vs. Winner of Match F
10:00 am – 3rd place match – Loser of Match G vs. Loser of Match H
1:00 pm – Championship Match
Emory heads into the UAA Championships with wins in eight of its past nine outings. Most recently, the Eagles rolled to a 4-0 mark over regionally ranked foes at the Emory National Invitational this past weekend. Emory opened with a 3-0 decisions over Randolph-Macon and Clarkson on Friday before posting similar scores against Washington and Lee and Berry College the following afternoon. The Eagles closed out the regular season with a 13-1 home record.
At the start of the week, the Eagles post a league-leading attack percentage of .267, good for the No. 4 slot nationally. Emory has hit .300 or better in 12 contests this season, and has enjoyed an edge in that category in 28 matches (105 of the last 113). Leading the conference in that category is senior middle Jessica Holler with a .381 effort (320-77—638), with that mark good for 15th place among all D-III players. The 6-foot-1 Holler has produced 24 matches of a .300 or higher hitting percentage, including 17 of .400 or better. The owner of 19 contests of double-figure kills, her career total of 1,262 terminations is 11th on the program's all-time chart. In addition to her hitting percentage, Holler is fourth on the conference chart in kills (3.05 kps) and third in blocks (0.99 bps).
All totaled, Emory claims four of the league's top 14 leaders in attack percentage with sophomore Sydney Leimbach (.357, 30th nationally) holding down the No. 2 position while seniors Sarah Maher (.272) and Kathryn Trinka (.242) stand 11th and 14th, respectively. Maher is also scaling the school's career chart in kills with her total of 1,095 placing 14th. Trinka rang up a total of 36 terminations during the Emory National Invitational and in the process moved into the 20th position on the Eagles' all-time list with 967 successful attack attempts.
Defensively, Emory has been solid, limiting the opposition to a .109 hitting percentage that leads the conference and stands 31st in the D-III ranks. The Eagles have held 18 foes to a hitting percentage of less than .100, with five of those opponents ending up with a minus percentage. Sophomore Becky Breuer tops the squad and is seventh on the UAA ladder with a 4.01 digs-per-set average.
Emory has won four of the last seven and six UAA titles over the last 11 years. The Eagles notched their first title in 2005 and then brought home their second crown in 2007. In 2009, Emory topped Washington University in the title match, and defended the crown in 2010 with a 3-1 decision over the No. 1-ranked Bears' squad. In 2012, Emory topped then No. 1-ranked Wash U, 3-1, in the title clash. After finishing runner-up to Chicago in 2013, the Eagles met up with the Maroons in the 2014 finals where they brought the crown back to Atlanta following a 3-1 win. Last season, Emory finished runner-up to Wash U.
EAGLES RACKING UP THE HONORS -- The following is a list of various honors that Emory players have received this season
Emory Classic All-Tournament Team (Sept. 2-3)
Karissa Dzurik
Jessica Holler
Emory National Invitational All-Tournament Team (Oct. 28-29)
Jessica Holler (MVP)
Sarah Maher
Hannah Billings
UAA Player of the Week
Karissa Dzurik – Sept. 6
Jessica Holler – Sept. 19
Andie McKinnon – Sept. 26
Jessica Holler – Oct. 3
Jessica Holler – Oct. 31