The Emory volleyball team's quest to bring home the program's second national title fell short Monday afternoon as the Eagles lost to Hope College in a hard-fought final match of the NCAA D-III Championships. The No. 2-ranked Flying Dutch of Hope captured their first-ever national crown and closed out the year with a 34-2 record after registering a 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 25-22, 24-26, 15-8) decision over the No. 5 Eagles who finished the year with a 39-4 won-lost ledger. The Championships were held in Newport News, Va., and hosted by Christopher Newport University.
For just the second time this season, Emory was outhit, with Hope registering a .238 attack percentage (73-23—210) while the Eagles recorded a .195 mark (67-28—200). The match featured some outstanding defense by both squads with Emory posting a season-high 98 digs, tying the eighth-high match total in program history, while Hope totaled 87. The Flying Dutch, ranked 11th nationally in blocks, enjoyed a 17-7 edge in that department over Emory who entered the NCAA Championships ranked 15th in that category.
Playing without senior middle Cat McGrath who came down with an illness earlier in the day, Emory was paced offensively by sophomore Sarah Maher who banged out a career-high 21 kills while also coming up with a career-high tying 14 digs. For Maher, who hit .275 (21-7—51) in the match, it represented her fourth straight and 15th contest of the year with double-figure kills. Senior Leah Jacobs and sophomore Jessica Holler each contributed 16 kills with Holler's effort tying her career high. Holler hit a team-leading .325 (16-3—40) and registered three block assists. Sophomore Kathryn Trinka rounded out the squad's double-figure terminators with 10 successful attack attempts.
Junior setter Sydney Miles doled out a season-high 58 assists, her third-highest career performance, and chipped in 11 digs, while senior Kate Bowman came through with a team-best 30 digs, her second straight contest of reaching that total.
Jacobs and Miles were the Emory representatives on the NCAA Championships All-Tournament Team. Jacobs averaged 4.46 kills per set and posted a hitting percentage of .307 (58-15—140) while Miles doled out 13.07 assists per set.
The match closed out the four-year careers of the Emory senior class of Jacobs, McGrath, Bowman and Olivia Volarich.
Set 1 – Holler puts down six kills and Jacobs five as the Eagles take a 1-0 lead in the match … Emory holds the Flying Dutch to a .154 attack percentage … Emory trails by a 3-5 count before registering nine of the set's next 10 points, with Trinka picking up a pair of terminations and a block assist and Maher contributing two kills in the run, giving the Eagles a 12-6 advantage … Emory takes its largest lead of the set at 15-8, but a 5-1 Hope spurt allows it to draw to within a 16-13 deficit … The teams then split the next eight points that makes the score 20-17 in Emory's favor … A kill by Jacobs pushes Emory ahead by four points but back-to-back Eagle attack errors allow the Flying Dutch to narrow the gap to 21-19 … Holding a 22-20 edge, a kill by Holler followed by a Hope hitting miscue propels Emory to set point … A kill by HC's Anna Lynch keeps it alive, but Jacobs closes out the set in Emory's favor with a kill.
Set 2 – Hope jumps out to a 7-2 lead before a Jacobs' kill, block assists by Maher and sophomore Shannon Nugent and a service ace by Miles draws Emory to within two points … Three straight Hope points key a 6-2 charge that gives it a 13-7 margin … A kill by Jenny Grasmeyer, one of her 22 on the day, keeps the Flying Dutch ahead by a 16-11 score … Two kills by Jacobs highlight a 4-0 Emory run that ties the set at 16-16 … Tied at 18-18, Hope scores four of the next five points to claim a 22-19 lead … A kill by Holler cuts HC's advantage to two points, but the Flying Dutch use kills by Grasmeyer and setter Lauren Hazekamp, and an attack error by Emory to close out the game and tie the match.
Set 3 – Holler and Jacobs each ring up five kills but it isn't enough as Hope takes a 2-1 lead in the match … Hope gets out of the blocks in a strong fashion again, scoring the first five points before building an 11-5 lead … Two kills and a block assist from Holler, along with three kills by Jacobs, fuel an 8-2 Emory charge that ties the set, 13-13 … The Eagles and Flying Dutch split the next 12 points, leaving the game deadlocked at 19-19 … Kills by Grasmeyer and Amy VanderStoep give Hope a 21-19 lead … Emory trails, 22-23, after a Jacobs kill but terminations by Jillian Sommerville and Grassmeyer are the deciding points in the set.
Set 4 – Hope gains the upper hand early in the set, racing to a 10-5 lead and before extending that margin to 17-10 following a kill by Sommerville … With their backs to the wall, the Eagles stage a furious rally, running off a 9-2 blitz, keyed by three kills from Jacobs and two from Maher, that tie the score at 19-19 … The Flying Dutch account for the next two points and take a 22-20 lead after a Grasmeyer termination … A subsequent service ace by Hope opens the door for a 3-0 Emory run, capped by block assists by Trinka and Holler, that puts it ahead by one point … A kill by Holler snaps a 24-24 tie and the Eagles capture the set and stay alive after a Hope hitting error … The Eagles enjoy a .271 (18-5—48) to .182 (16-6—55) edge in attack percentage.
Set 5 – Hope hits .467 in the deciding set compared to Emory's .000 … The Eagles see Hope jump out to a 7-0 lead, but counters with a 6-1 run that features two Trinka kills and Maher a termination and block assist … A kill by Holler keeps Emory within striking distance, down 7-10, but back-to-back kills by Lynch start a 4-0 burst that gives Hope a 14-7 cushion … Trinka keeps Emory's hopes alive with a kill but Lynch closes the match out in Hope's favor with a successful attack attempt.