UAA Champs! - Emory Volleyball Sweeps WashU to Claim Conference Title

UAA Champs! - Emory Volleyball Sweeps WashU to Claim Conference Title

For the third time in four seasons and tenth time overall the Emory University volleyball team captured the University Athletic Association championship, defeating WashU in straight sets Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn, New York.

After winning titles in back-to-back years in 2018 and 2019, the Eagles will bring the UAA crown back to Atlanta following a dominating sweep of the Bears 25-23, 25-17, 25-18 to claim the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. It was the ninth time the two programs had squared off in the UAA championship match since 2007 with Emory now leading 5-4 in head-to-head matchups that decide a title.

Junior Carly Wallace continued her masterful run in the UAA tournament, notching a team-high 14 kills on just 22 total attacks for a .500 hitting percentage in the championship match. Junior Amanda Meyer was spectacular in the finals as well as she was the only other Eagles to get into double digit kills with her 11 while she also led the team with three blocks. Freshman Olivia Rabinowitz continued to show off her setting chops, this time to the tune of 38 assists while also contributing nine digs as an important defensive member of the team. Senior Lauren Bandera led the Emory squad with 14 digs and had many more points she kept in play off of blocks as a pivotal defensive piece of the team.

With the conference title on the line, the Eagles came out ready to play, building themselves an early three point lead with the first two points of the match going to Emory on service aces from sophomore Deborah Hong. The remainder of the set would stay tight as the two teams would be tied on eight separate occasions in the first set. Knotted up at 22 points apiece, the Eagles would go on their final mini run of the set, outscoring the Bears 3-1 as a Wallace kill put the finishing touches on the set for an Emory one set lead.

Emory carried the momentum from the first set into the second, opening up an early 6-1 lead that set the tone for the rest of the set. The Bears wouldn't get any closer than two points the rest of the way as sophomore Madison Cail would punch in the final two points of the set for an Emory 25-17 win and a two set lead.

The third set started similarly to the second with the Eagles this time building a 7-3 lead thanks to a 4-0 run that sophomore Alana Dawson contributed two kills to. The Bears tried to claw their way back into the set, but a 7-1 run thanks in large part to the service performance of freshman Elly Beshears put the Eagles up 21-13 in the set and the match out of reach. The two stars of the match, Wallace and Meyer, put the finishing touches on the championship run with a block to seal the set 25-18 and earn the championship.

The Eagles, having secured an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, will learn their first round matchup and destination during the NCAA Selection Show at 12:30 PM on Monday on NCAA.com.