The Emory University volleyball team will be one of 64 programs competing for the 2016 NCAA Division III Championship. The Eagles are part of an eight-team Brockport New York, Regional with the College at Brockport College serving as the host institution. All matches will be played at the Jim and John Vlogianitis Gymnasium on the Brockport campus. Emory's opening-round foe will be the College of New Rochelle. Emory will enter the Regional as the No. 1 seed while New Rochelle is No. 8.
Action begins on Friday (Nov. 11) with four first-round matches with the second rounds being played on Saturday. The regional championship will be played on Sunday (Nov. 13), with the winner advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The schedule for the Brockport, New York Regional is as follows with times listed as Eastern Standard.
Friday, Nov. 11
Match 1 – 12:30 pm – Susquehanna vs. Clarkson
Match 2 – 3:00 pm – Emory vs. College of New Rochelle
Match 3 – 5:30 pm – Ithaca vs. Middlebury
Match 4 – 8:00 pm – College of Brockport vs. Gallaudet
Saturday, Nov. 12
Match 5 – 2:30 pm - Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner
Match 6 – 5:00 pm – Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner
Sunday, Nov. 13
2:00 pm – Championship Match
The Eagles of head coach Jenny McDowell earned the University Athletic Association's automatic bid to this year's NCAA Tournament, the 21st straight season (22nd overall) that the program will be playing in the postseason. Emory, 30-5, on the year is coming off a first-place finish at the league championships, posting a 3-0 quarterfinal decision over New York University and 3-1 triumph vs. Washington University in the semis on Friday. The following day, the Eagles rolled to a 3-0 victory over Carnegie Mellon in the title showdown. It represented Emory's fifth league title in the past eight years and seventh overall.
McDowell checks into the NCAA Tournament with a school and career record of 682-152. She has led the program to five appearances in the national semifinals, a national championship in 2008 and national runner-up finishes in 2010 and 2014. She has registered a 42-20 ledger in NCAA Tournament action (Emory's all-time mark in the NCAA Tournament is 42-21).
Emory's opening-round NCAA opponent will be the College of New Rochelle (21-9), who captured an automatic berth after winning its fourth straight Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship. The Blue Angels, led by second-year head coach Alyssa Kaufman (Montreat, '13), rolled by Pratt Institute in the conference finals. A key member of the CNR team is senior setter Melanie Ann Lopez Soto, a two-time HVIAC Player of the Year.
Clarkson University (21-14), the No. 5 seed, landed an automatic spot in the postseason after winning its fifth straight Liberty League Championship this past weekend. Head coach Carol LaMarche is in her second stint as the head coach with the Golden Knights, having served in that capacity in 2005. In seven years as a head coach, LaMarche claims a career slate of 171-75. Emory has a 2-0 edge in the all-time series vs. Clarkson, which includes a 3-0 win earlier this season (Oct. 28) at the Emory National Invitational.
The No. 4 seed at the Brockport Regional, Susquehanna University heads into its meeting with Clarkson with a record of 31-7. The Crusaders were tabbed as an at-large team to the NCAAs after finishing runner-up to Juniata College in the Landmark Conference Championship. This will be SU's first-even NCAA Tournament appearance. John Kuuipo Tom is in his 14th season as the head coach at Susquehanna and has compiled 257 wins. The year's 31 victories by the Crusaders is a school record. If Emory and Susquehanna were to meet, it would be the first-ever clash in volleyball between the programs.
Ithaca, seeded No. 3, will be making its second straight and 19th overall trip to the postseason. The Bombers, the tournament champions of the Empire 8 Conference, stand 26-5 on the year. Ithaca is led by first-year head coach Johan Dulfer. Prior to his current post, Dulfer directed Clarkson for 10 years. In 11 campaigns as a head coach, Dulfer has amassed a career record of 296-120. Emory and Ithaca have never played against each other in volleyball.
The No. 6 seed Panthers of Middlebury, owners of an 18-8 won-lost ledger, are making their fifth-ever trip to the national tournament, punching their ticket with a thrilling 3-2 win over Tufts in the finals of the NESCAC championship. 22nd-year head coach Sarah Raunecker checks into the Brockport Regional with a school and career mark of 401-217.
Host Brockport is the No. 2 seed with 32 wins in 35 decisions this year. The Golden Eagles came away with their second straight SUNYAC Tournament crown over the weekend, besting SUNY New Paltz, 3-1, in the title match. Fourth-year head coach Steve Pike has revived the program and posts a school record of 89-38, 66-5 the past two years.
Gallaudet College, the No. 7 seed, will tangle with Brockport with a 21-15 record. The Bison played their way to a seventh straight trip to the postseason following a 3-1 decision over SUNY Polytechnic Institute in the finals of the North Eastern Athletic Conference Championship. Lynn Ray Boren is in his 12th year as head coach of the program and has registered a school and career record of 293-151.
EMORY AND THE NCAA FIELD – Emory played a total of 14 regular-season matches against 12 teams that advanced to this year's NCAA Tournament Championship. The Eagles enjoyed a fair amount of success against this year's field, racking up an 11-3 won-lost mark. The following demonstrates how Emory has done this year vs. teams that made the NCAA Tourney.
St. Thomas: 1-0
UW-Oshkosh: 1-0
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps: 0-1
Cal Lutheran: 0-1
Mary Washington: 1-0
Hendrix: 1-0
Carnegie Mellon: 2-0
Washington University: 2-0
Eastern: 0-1
Juniata: 1-0
Randolph-Macon: 1-0
Clarkson: 1-0
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
Jessica Holler – Nov. 7
HOLLER SHINES AT UAA CHAMPIONSHIPS – Jessica Holler was named the UAA Player of the Week for the fourth time this season after a stellar performance at the league's championships this past weekend.
Holler played in all 10 of the team's sets over three matches and wound up pacing the squad in kills (3.50 kps), attack percentage (.574, 35-4--54) and blocks (1.00 bps) as Emory brought home its fifth league crown in the past eight campaigns. Holler paced or shared for the team lead in kills in all three outings, including a 15-terminations effort, which also saw her hit .714 (15-0--21) and add four block assists in a 3-1 win over No. 14 Washington University in the semifinals. In the title match vs. No. 21 Carnegie Mellon, Holler topped all players with 12 successful attack attempts and hit .474 (12-3--19) as the Eagles posted a 3-0 victory. In addition, Holler doled out three service aces and chipped in three block assists.
So far this year, Holler has registered 21 matches of double-figure kills. She leads the UAA and ranks 10th nationally in hitting percentage (.397). In addition, she stands third among the conference leaders in total kills (356) and blocks per set (0.99 bps) and places fourth with a 3.10 kills-per-game average.
BREUER GIVES EMORY DEFENSE A BOOST – Sophomore Becky Breuer has moved into the No. 7 spot on the conference chart with a 3.96 digs-per-set average. The 5-foot-10 libero has come up with 19 matches of double-figure digs in her 27 outings, including five with 20 or more.
At the UAA Championships, she averaged a team-high 4.50 digs-per-set, leading the club in that category in two of the three matches. She opened with a match-high 18 digs in a quarterfinal-sweep of NYU before chalking up a team-best 17 in the 3-1 win over Wash U in the semifinals. Her play helped limit the three opponents to just a .115 attack percentage.
Career-wise, Breuer finds herself in the No. 2 spot on the program's all-time ladder in digs per set (min. 200) with an average of 4.31 per game.
EMORY ATTACK A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH -- Heading into the NCAA Tournament, the Eagles post a league-leading attack percentage of .268, good for the No. 3 slot nationally. Emory has hit .300 or better in 13 contests this season, and has enjoyed an edge in that category in 31 matches (108 of the last 116).
With Holler leading the way at .397, Emory claims four of the league's top 17 leaders in attack percentage with sophomore Sydney Leimbach (.358, 27th nationally) holding down the No. 2 slot while seniors Sarah Maher (.272) and Kathryn Trinka (.233) stand 11th and 17th, respectively.
Holler has produced 27 matches of a .300 or higher hitting percentage, including 20 of .400 or better.
EMORY SENIORS A WINNING TRIO – This year's senior class of Jessica Holler, Sarah Maher and Kathryn Trinka have enjoyed a great deal of team and individual success during their Emory careers, and are looking for a big final run as their days in an Emory uniform are on the horizon.
Heading into the Brockport Regional, the three seniors have compiled an astounding won-lost record of 137-18 (.883), which four NCAA Tourney bids, two berths in the national semifinals, one national runner-up finish and two UAA crowns.
Each of the trio have etched themselves in the Emory record books in various career categories with Holler ranking 10th all-time in kills (1,297), second in hitting percentage (.383), 16th in kills per set (2.68 kps), 16th in attack attempts (2,609), ninth in block solos (90), second in block assists (404), second in total blocks (494) and fourth in blocks per set (1.02 bps).
Maher finds herself in the No. 13 position on the Eagles' career ladder with 1,115 terminations. Her 2,751 attack opportunities are 11th while her .290 hitting percentage slots her 16th. Finally, she has worked her way into the program's all-time top 20 with her 879 digs good for the No. 19 position.
Trinka is on the verge of reaching 1,000 career kills, with her 985 terminations ranking 19th all-time at Emory. Her 2,680 attack attempts are 12th.
NOTES – Holler's .714 hitting percentage against Washington University in the semifinals of the UAA Championships represented the high-water mark by an Emory player this season … Freshman Sara Carr's team-high 14 digs in the UAA title match vs. Carnegie Mellon was her 10th effort of the year in double digits … Freshman Morgan McKnight pounded out a season-high tying 14 terminations against Washington University, her fifth double-figure performance of the season … Sophomore Mady Arles doled out a season-high 24 assists in the Wash U match. … In addition to her No. 2 UAA ranking in hitting percentage, Sydney Leimbach is ninth on the league ladder in blocks (0.72 bps) … Emory has played 11 matches against teams ranked in the AVCA Top 25, registering an 8-3 record in those contests.