The Emory volleyball team returns to action this Friday and Saturday (Sept. 22-23) when it plays at the Transylvania Invitational in Lexington, Kentucky. On Friday, the Eagles will battle host Transylvania in a 7:00 p.m. match. The following day Emory will tackle Heidelberg University at noon and Bowdoin College at 2:00 p.m.
Emory begins the weekend as the No. 4-ranked D-III program in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll.
Emory has captured its last seven outings, boosting its record to 8-1. The Eagles are coming off a 2-0 mark at the Emory Classic where they defeated No. 8 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and No.6 Juniata.
Sophomore Morgan McKnight (Manassas, VA) was tabbed as the University Athletic Association Hitter of the Week for the second straight time after bringing home MVP acclaim, which saw her average a team-leading 4.14 kills per set while hitting .289 (29-7--76). In the win vs. CMS, she tied for match honors with a career-high tying 15 terminations and followed that performance with 14 terminations to go along with a .462 hitting percentage vs. Juniata. Through matches played Sept. 19, McKnight leads the conference in kills per set (3.50 kps) and is seventh in attack percentage (.289).
Sophomore Elyse Thompson was the other Emory representative on the all-tournament team after continuing her outstanding defensive play from her libero post, where she averaged a team-best 5.58 digs over seven sets. Thompson totaled 20 digs in the CMU battle, her fourth outing of 20 or more this season. The 5-foot-7 Thompson paces the league with a 5.82 digs-per-set effort, good for 30th position among all D-III players.
Junior middle Sydney Leimbach is hitting at a .373 clip (82-20—166), good for second place in the league and 25th in the D-III ranks. The 6-foot-2 Leimbach has registered a .350 or higher attack percentage in six matches including a .389 performance (10-3—18) against Juniata. In addition, Leimbach has made her presence felt defensively at the net, averaging a team-high 0.94 blocks per game.
Through nine matches, Emory posts a .226 (460-179—1243) hitting percentage and has held the opposition to a mark of .140 (328-164—1171). The Eagles have doled out 61 service aces, led by Thompson's 14, compared to 23 for their opponents. In the digs department, Emory holds a 18.45-16.24 per-set advantage.
Fourth-year head coach Kyle Walton has guided Transylvania to an 8-3 record through its opening 11 matches. The Pioneers last played on Tuesday, Sept. 19, when they swept Centre College.
Directed by 17th-year head coach Jason Miller, Heidelberg begins the weekend with a 6-7 mark. The Student Princes are coming a 3-0 triumph at Denison on Tuesday of this week.
Bowdoin College checks in with a 5-3 slate. Third-year head coach Erin Cady and her squad are looking to shake a two-match losing skid that includes a 2-3 setback at home to Tufts on Tuesday.