The No. 5-ranked Emory University volleyball team will battle Williams College in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships on Friday (Nov. 21). The Freeman Center on the campus of Christopher Newport will serve as the site for the Championships with the Eagles and the Ephs scheduled to begin at 3:00 pm. The winner of the match will move into Saturday's semifinals to battle the winner of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps vs. UW-Stevens Point clash. A schedule for this weekend's matches follows:
Friday, Nov. 21
Match 1 – 12:30 pm -- Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (27-6) vs. UW-Stevens Point (32-4)
Match 2 – 3:00 pm – Emory (37-3) vs. Williams (28-4)
Match 3 – 5:30 pm – Hope (31-2) vs. Clarkson (37-3)
Match 4 – Calvin (30-3) vs. Christopher Newport (34-3)
Saturday, Nov. 22
Match 5 – 5:00 pm – winner of match 1 vs. winner of match 2
Match 6 – 7:30 pm – winner of match 3 vs. winner of match 4
Sunday, Nov. 23**
Match 7 – 4:00 pm -- winner of match 5 vs. winner of match 6
*The championship match would be rescheduled for Monday, November 24 at 1 p.m. if Calvin or Hope advances to the title bout
** Emory has won its last 12 matches and enters the NCAA Championships with an overall record of 37-3, the eighth straight season of 30 or more victories for the Eagles. The victory total represents a school record for most wins in a season.
** This weekend marks the 8th time in program history that Emory has advanced to the Round of 8 in the NCAA D-III Tournament.
** Emory earned an automatic bid to this year's NCAA Tournament after capturing its fourth University Athletic Association title in the past six years.
** This is Emory's 19th straight and 20th overall appearance to the NCAA Tournament for the Emory Volleyball program. The Eagles advanced to the national semifinals last season ... Emory has a 38-19 all-time record in NCAA matches.
** Emory is led by 19th year head coach Jenny McDowell who has posted a school and career record of 616-142 ... McDowell recorded her 600th career win on Oct. 5 vs. Carnegie Mellon ... McDowell claims a 38-18 all-time record in NCAA Tournament matches ... She has a 2008 national title to her credit and has guided the Eagles into the national semifinals on four occasions (2013, 2010, 2008, 2003).
** Emory played 12 matches against 11 teams that earned bids to this year's 2014 NCAA Tournament, posting a 10-2 record in those games.
** Senior outside Leah Jacobs is pounding out a team-high 3.67 kills per set, good for 2nd place in the UAA, and has registered a team-high 25 matches of double-figure terminations ... Jacobs has either led or shared for team honors in 23 contests this year ... She has totaled 20 or more kills in four matches including a career-high of 27 vs. Berry (Aug. 31), the 8th highest individual match effort in school history ... Member of the St. Louis Regional All-Tournament Team after leading the team with a 3.45 kills-per-set average … Led the team in terminations last weekend vs. Thomas More (12) and Wash U (19) … 496 total kills ranks 5th on the Eagles' seasonal ladder while her kills-per-set average is 8th ... Career-wise, she has 989 kills to her credit, 15th all-time in program history … Named UAA Offensive Player of the Week 3x this year.
** Sophomore middle Jessica Holler leads the UAA in hitting percentage (.382) and ranks No.7 among all D-III players in that category ... Holler's attack percentage mark currently ranks 10th on the school's seasonal ladder ... Holler has produced 13 outings of double-figure kills this year (31 matches) and has hit .400 or higher on 17 occasions ... In addition to her hitting efficiency, she is the UAA leader and 17th nationally with a 1.17 blocks-per-set average ... Career-high 10-block outings vs. Claremont-Mudd Scripps (Sept. 6) and Chicago (Oct. 19) … Named UAA Player of the Week 3x this year ... No. 2 on Emory's career ladder in attack percentage (.368).
** Junior setter Sydney Miles tops the UAA and stands 18th nationally in assists (10.56 aps) ... She has doled out 50 or more assists seven times this season (12 during her career), most recently against Washington University (52 asst.) last weekend in the 3-2 victory over the Bears in the title match of the NCAA St. Louis Regional Championships ... 1,436 assists in 2014 places her fourth on the school's seasonal ladder …Holds down the No. 3 all-time position at Emory with 4,214 assists.
** Senior libero Kate Bowman shores up a solid defense, averaging a team-leading 4.56 digs per set that is 5th on the UAA chart ... 643 total digs this year is the second-highest seasonal mark in school annals and just 11 shy of moving into the No. 1 position, topping Taylor Erwin's standard of 653 set in 2012 ... Has played in all 141 of the team's sets and has chalked up 36 matches of double-figure digs including 12 or 20 or more ... Team-high 23 digs vs. Wash U in the championship match of the St. Louis Regional last weekend … Named UAA Defensive Player of the Week on three occasions this year.
** After missing the first half of the season with an injury, the return of senior middle Cat McGrath to the lineup has given the Eagles a boost … Earned a berth on the NCAA St. Louis Regional All-Tournament Team last weekend after hitting a team high .443 (32-6—61) and finishing second on the team with a 2.91 kills and 0.45-blocks-per-set marks … Led the team with 14 kills and hit .650 (14-1—20) vs. Webster in the opening round of the NCAA Tourney with that percentage representing the top mark turned in by an Emory player this season … Second on the club with 14 terminations and hit .429 (14-2—28) vs. No. 7 Wash U in the championship match of the Saint Louis Regional … Has played in 19 matches and produced seven efforts of 10 or more kills … Second Team All-UAA.
** Sophomore Sarah Maher was named the MVP of the St. Louis NCAA last weekend … Came through with a big match vs. Washington University in the championship match, racking up 16 kills, tying her second-highest career total, hitting .317 (16-3—41) and chipping in 12 digs … Honorable Mention All-American … No. 3 in the UAA in hitting percentage (.311), No. 8 in total kills (321) and ninth in kills per set with a 2.53 average which is third on the team … Has played in 39 of the team's 40 matches and recorded 12 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.
** Emory paces the UAA and ranks 3rd nationally with a .276 hitting percentage ... Emory has outhit 38 of 40 opponents this year with the only foe finishing with a higher attack percentage being Washington Univ. (.194 vs. .234, on Oct. 18) ... The Elmhurst match on Sept. 19 saw both teams hit .223.
** The Eagles rank as the UAA leader with a 2.22 blocks-per-set average with that mark good for the No. 15 spot nationally.
** Emory checks into the NCAA Championships No. 2 among UAA teams and 13th nationally in kills per set (13.57 kps).
** Emory holds a 3-0 edge in the all-time series vs. Williams … Last meeting between the Eagles and Ephs came in Sept. of 2012 when Emory recorded a 3-0 triumph at home … Other meetings have taken place in 2010 (3-0 Emory win at Juniata) and 2003 (3-1 at Emory in the NCAA Quarterfinals).
** Emory claims a 5-0 advantage in the all-time series vs. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The teams met earlier this year (Sept. 6) at the Cal Lutheran Invitational where the Eagles prevailed by a 3-0 margin.
** If Emory were to meet UW-Stevens Point in the semifinals, it would represent the first-ever meeting in volleyball.
2014 AVCA All-Americans
Sydney Miles – 1st Team
Leah Jacobs – 1st Team
Jessica Holler – 2nd Team
Kate Bowman – 3rd team
Sarah Maher -- HM
2014 AVCA All-South Region
Leah Jacobs
Jessica Holler
Sydney Miles
Kate Bowman
Sarah Maher
Jenny McDowell -- AVCA South Region Coach of the Year
2014 All-UAA
Leah Jacobs -- 1st Team
Sydney Miles -- 1st Team
Jessica Holler -- 1st Team
Cat McGrath -- 2nd Team
Sarah Maher -- 2nd Team
Kate Bowman -- HM
2014 St. Louis Regional All-Tournament Team
Sarah Maher -- MVP
Leah Jacobs
Cat McGrath