Six members of the No. 5-ranked Emory University volleyball team have been chosen to the 2014 All-University Athletic Association Team. Three players were afforded first-team acclaim, while two landed second-team and one honorable-mention recognition. The all-league teams were selected by the conference coaches. Head coach Jenny McDowell and her squad enter the upcoming NCAA Tournament with an overall record of 34-3 and are coming off a title performance at the UAA Championships last weekend.
Junior Sydney Miles (Oklahoma City, OK) highlighted the Eagles' selections by being tabbed as a first-team UAA honoree for the third straight year. The 6-foot-1 setter has played an instrumental role in the high-powered Emory attack that is hitting a conference-best .276 which ranks among the top three among all D-III programs. Miles tops the league with a 10.5 assists-per-set average with that mark ranking 13th on the program's seasonal ladder. Miles has doled out 50 or more assists on six occasions this season, most recently against Chicago (50 assts.) in a 3-1 triumph over Chicago in the title match of the UAA Championships. Her 1,312 assists represent the 11th-highest Emory seasonal mark while her career effort of 4,090 is good for the No. 3 spot all-time at the school. Her effective all-around play has seen her post a .348 hitting percentage and she is averaging 2.14 digs, 034 aces and 0.60 blocks per set.
Sophomore middle Jessica Holler (Roswell, GA) captured her second straight first-team nod after concluding the regular season tops in the league and among the top five nationally with a .407 attack percentage with that mark placing fourth on the Eagles' yearly chart. She has posted 11 outings of double-figure kills in 28 matches and has registered a hitting mark of .400 or better on 17 occasions. Named the UAA Offensive Player of the Week twice this year, she has been tabbed to all-tournament teams at the Emory Classic, Berry Invitational and the Emory National Invitational. A formidable defensive presence at the net as well, she ranks as the conference leader with a 1.20 blocks-per-set showing and was among D-III's top 10 in that category in last week's statistics. She has recorded eight matches of five or more blocks including a pair of career-high tying 10-blocks efforts vs. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Chicago (Oct. 19).
After garnering honorable mention status last season, senior Leah Jacobs (Linville, VA) was afforded first-team status for the first time in her career. Jacobs has appeared in 124 of the team's 130 sets and is averaging a squad-best 3.69 kills per set, which ranks second among UAA players and seventh on the school's seasonal chart. Named the UAA Offensive Player of the Week on three occasions this year, Jacobs has produced a team-high 23 matches of double-figure terminations, and her 458 kills places her seventh on the Eagles' seasonal list. She has either led or tied for team honors in kills in 22 contests, including a career high of 27 vs. Berry (Aug. 31).
Despite missing the first half of the season, senior Cat McGrath (St. Louis, MO) bounced back in strong fashion to gain a second-team selection for the second consecutive year. The 6-foot-2 middle has totaled five matches of 10 or more terminations and is hitting a solid .394 (128-24—264). At the UAA Championships, McGrath hit .447 (19-2—38) and averaged 1.00 blocks per set. On the year, her 0.84 blocks-per-set average is second on the squad.
Sophomore Sarah Maher (Orange, CA) landed a spot on the all-UAA second team as well, ranking No. 3 in the league in hitting percentage (.319) and ninth in both total kills (297) and kills per set (2.76 kps). She has played in 36 of the team's 37 matches and recorded 11 outings with double-figure kills. One of her big efforts came against Chicago at the Elmhurst Invitational with a career-high 19 kills and .548 attack percentage (19-2—31) in a 3-2 win. In the semifinals of the UAA Championships, Maher led the squad with nine successful attack attempts en route to a .474 hitting performance in a 3-0 triumph over Carnegie Mellon.
The catalyst of the strong Emory defense, senior Kate Bowman (Corpus Christi, TX) was selected to the league's honorable mention team. Bowman averages a team-high 4.48 digs per game from her libero spot, good for fifth place in the conference, while her 583 digs is the league's third-highest mark and good for the No. 3 position on the school's season list. One of two players to have logged all 130 sets this year, Bowman has chalked up 33 matches of double-figure digs including 10 performances of 20 or more. Bowman moved into the program's No. 1 spot in career digs this past weekend and will enter the NCAA Tournament with 1,368 to her credit.
In addition, five Eagles were selected to the 14-player All-South Region Team as announced by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). Miles claimed her third berth on the team while Holler and Bowman were chosen for the second time. Both Jacobs and Maher are first-team members of the all-region Team. Jacobs (outside hitter), Miles (setter), Holler (middle hitter) and Bowman (libero) were the leading vote getters at their respective positions. With their selections, all five now are eligible for All-America honors that will be announced next week.
McDowell, along with assistants Joseph Goodson, Helen Lin, Scott Shelley and Lauren LaRocque, were named the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year. McDowell also earned AVCA All-South Region Coach of the Year kudos for the sixth time in her career (2004, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2014).
Emory opens NCAA Tournament action on Friday (Nov. 14) in Saint Louis when it takes on Webster University in a scheduled 4:00 pm start (EST).