Emory Volleyball Dominates First Two Conference Games

Emory Volleyball Dominates First Two Conference Games

The Emory University volleyball team opened up its conference schedule with two convincing wins at the first UAA Round Robin in St. Louis, MO on Saturday. The No. 4 ranked Eagles swept Case Western Reserve and Rochester on their way to a 2-0 day that brought their season record to 7-2. 

In the first match of the day against Case Western Reserve, the Eagles won in dominant fashion putting up a 25-13, 25-21, 25-21 scoreline. Sophomores Lily Martin and Alana Dawson tied for the team lead with 12 kills apiece in the first match in what was a spread out attack for the Eagles. Freshman Olivia Rabinowitz continued her impressive rookie campaign with a team leading 23 assists to go along with six digs. Junior Carly Wallace was her usual self as she could be found all over the court with a team-high .32 hitting percentage (9-1--25) as well as 10 digs.

Emory got out to a quick start in the first set, opening up an early 6-2 lead on the back of some strong serving performances by sophomore Sarah Luong. The Eagles controlled the remainder of the set and put an exclamation point on the end of it with a 6-0 run fueled by strong outside hitting from Martin. 

The Eagles built upon the first set with another strong set eventually opening up a seven point lead in the middle of the set on the back of a couple of Rabinowitz service aces. The Eagles never let the Spartans back in the set, eventually winning 25-21. The third set was much of the same with the Eagles strong defense keeping the Spartans off the board and giving Emory the straight set victory. 

In the second match against Rochester, the Eagles continued to be an unstoppable force winning by a score line of 25-19, 25-19, 25-15. Wallace led the team in kills with 10 as she was the only Eagle to cross the double digit kills threshold. Sophomore Deborah Hong started at libero and kept Emory in many points as she led the team with 12 digs. Junior Amanda Meyer was a menace at the net with two big time blocks as well as nine kills on a .368 hitting percentage (9-2--19). 

The Yellowjackets proved to be worthy adversaries early in the match going on a 5-0 run in the middle of the set to keep the Eagles on their toes and bring the set to within one point. The Eagles would respond with a 6-1 run of their own to stretch Emory's lead to six and lead to a 25-19 first set win. 

The second set was more of the same for the Eagles as they went on an early 5-0 run in which senior Lauren Bandera showed off her serving chops to take an eight point lead. Bandera closed the second set on another 4-0 run on her serve with a little help from Meyer at the net. The Eagles dominated the third set from start to finish as the set was highlighted by strong play from Hong in the back row and on the service line. 

The Eagles return to action tomorrow for the end of the first UAA Round Robin when they take on Chicago at 1:00 PM in St. Louis, MO.