The Emory volleyball team came through with a pair of impressive results on Saturday on the first day of action at the University Athletic Association Round Robin II. The No. 12-ranked Eagles swept both Case Western Reserve (25-18, 25-20, 25-14) and No. 8 Chicago (25-19, 25-21, 25-23) to raise their overall record to 15-5, 4-1 in the league. Serving as the host of the Round Robin II is Carnegie Mellon.
Emory enjoyed a decisive advantage in hitting against the Spartans of CWRU, registering an attack effort of .293 (46-12--116) vs. .036 (24-20--112) for Case. Senior Karissa Dzurik and sophomore Leah Saunders combined for 21 of the squad's 46 terminations with Dzurik leading the way with 11 terminations, while Saunders pounded out 10 kills en route to a hitting performance .333 (10-1--27). Senior Sydney Leimbach and sophomore Finn Wilkins were extremely efficient in their attack opportunites with seven kills apiece. Leimbach ended the match hitting .545 (7-1--11) while Wilkins turned in a showing of .500 (7-1--12). Senior setter Mady Arles doled out 38 digs and contributed six digs and three (1-2) total blocks to the cause. Junior Elyse Thompson aided Emory to a 55-50 edge in totals with a match-leading 23, her sixth outing of the year with 20 or more.
The Eagles' offense was solid against Chicago, registering an attack percentage of .291 (46-16--103) compared to the Maroons' .279 (34-10--86). Emory employed a trio of double-figure terminators in securing the win, led by Dzurik's 13 kills that represented her 13th double-figure performance of the year. Dzurik, whose hitting percentage of .414 (13-1--29) was her third-highest effort of the season, also tied for team honors with four service aces. Saunders closed out a productive Saturday with 11 successful attack attempts, a hitting mark of .368 (11-4--19) and four aces. Freshman Tara Martin rang up a season-best 10 kills while hitting .273 (10-4--22). Leimbach hit .417 (7-2--12), the sixth time this season she hit .400 or better, and chipped in three block assists.
Emory's two wins moved it into a tied for first place in the conference. The Eagles face two opponents on Sunday, Brandeis at 10:00 am, followed by a 2:00 clash against No. 9 Washington University.