The No. 2-ranked Emory volleyball team begins the ‘second season’ of its schedule this Friday and Saturday (Nov. 5-6) when it aims to defend its title at the University Athletic Association Championships.  Serving as the host for the event will be Case Western Reserve University.  All matches will be played at the Horsburgh Gym and the Veale Center on the CWRU campus.

The Eagles of head coach Jenny McDowell, 27-4 overall, enter the Championships as the No. 1 seed after posting a 6-1 record through the UAA Round Robins I & II. Emory will begin Pool A play by meeting the University of Rochester, seeded No. 8, in its first match on Friday at noon before taking on No. 5 seed and host Case Western in a scheduled 2:00 p.m. start.  On Saturday, the Eagles will conclude pool play with a noon bout against No. 4 seed Chicago.  Crossover and championship action begins at 2:00 p.m., with the championship tilt scheduled for 4:00 p.m.

Emory heads into the UAA Championships on a hot streak with wins in its last 10 matches.  In their most recent outing, the Eagles rattled off four wins, all by 3-0 scores at the Emory National Invitational.  Emory has won its last six contests by 3-0 margins and has won its last 20 consecutive sets.  Emory turned in a stellar defensive effort throughout the weekend, holding its four foes to just a .036 attack percentage.  In addition, the Eagles held a 17.1 – 12.5 digs per set edge along with a 2.08-1.46 blocks per set advantage.  Junior Jessica McAlvany and senior Amelia McCall were the big hitters for Emory, averaging 3.67 and 3.42 kills per set, respectively.  Junior Natalie Schonefeld doled out 11.42 assists per set and in the process upped her career total to 3,924, good for second place on the school’s all-time list and just 76 shy of the 4,000 career plateau. 

Emory has won three UAA championships over the last five years.  The Eagles notched their first title in 2005 and then brought home their second crown in 2007.  Last season, Emory topped then No. 3-ranked Washington University in the title match.  Emory and Washington University are no strangers to each other at the UAAs, with the Eagles and Bears meeting in the championship affair for the last six consecutive seasons.

Rochester heads into the weekend with an overall slate of 14-15 and concluded Round Robin play with a ledger of 0-7.  In their last action, the Yellowjackets lost to Nazareth, 3-0, before topping Brockport, 3-0, last weekend.  The Spartans of Case Western, 22-8 overall (4-3 UAA), tuned up for the UAAs by splitting a pair of five-set decisions on Saturday, losing to Otterbein before regrouping to edge Mount Union.  Chicago, ranked 21^st nationally among Division III programs, posts an overall record of 28-10 (4-3 UAA).  The Maroons came away with three wins in four matches last weekend at the Illinois Wesleyan Invitational.