The No. 2-ranked Emory volleyball team opened its 2015 season on a successful note Tuesday evening, defeating South Region foe Birmingham Southern at the Woodruff PE Center. The Eagles registered their 30th straight home win with a 3-0 decision (25-14, 25-23, 25-14) over the Panthers who were also making their season debut.
Junior Kathryn Trinka (North Bay Village, FL) paced all players with 14 kills, her second-highest career total, while finishing with a .263 attack percentage (14-4—38). Freshman Karissa Dzurik (Columbia, PA) enjoyed an auspicious collegiate debut, finishing second on the squad with 10 terminations to go along with a glittering .500 hitting mark (10-1—18). Junior Sarah Maher (Orange, CA) chalked up nine successful attack attempts and chipped in eight digs.
The Eagles hit .270 (43-13—111) for the contest while limiting BSC to a mark of .083 (32-22—121). Emory finished with a 57-50 edge in digs and was paced in that department by freshman Becky Breuer who totaled a match-high tying 15 defensive saves.
Emory returns to action this Friday and Saturday (Sept. 4-5) when it competes in the Calvin College Labor Day Invitational. On the opening day of action, the Eagles will battle Thomas More at 3:00 p.m., followed by a bout against host and top-ranked Calvin College at 7:00 p.m. On Saturday, matches against Defiance and John Carroll await the team.