The Emory volleyball team returns to conference play this Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 17-18), when it travels to Cleveland, Ohio, for the University Athletic Association Round Robin II. With Case Western Reserve serving as the host site for this weekend's action, the Eagles will tangle with four league foes. On Saturday, Emory will match-up against No. 1-ranked Washington University starting at 12:30 pm, followed by a 2:30 contest against the University of Rochester. The following day, the Eagles will battle New York University at 10:00 am before closing things out with a 2:00 pm affair vs. the University of Chicago.
The website for the UAA Round Robin II is as follows:
http://athletics.case.edu/sports/wvball/2015-16/releases/2015UAARoundRobin2
THE COACHES – Emory head coach Jenny McDowell (Georgia, '89) is in her 20th year at the helm of the Eagles' program and claims a school and career mark of 640-145. She has 16 campaigns of 30 or more wins, and has directed the program to 19 consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament. She has steered the Eagles to five berths to the national semifinals and has a national championship to her credit in 2008.
Vanessa Walby (UW-Whitewater, '02) is in her second year as the head coach of the Washington University program. Heading into the weekend, Walby has a school ledger of 55-7. Last year, she guided the Bears to an overall record of 35-6. Now in her eighth season as a head coach, which includes a six-year stint at Chicago (2008-13), Walby has a career mark of 220-78.
In her eighth campaign as the head coach at Rochester is Ladi Iya (Evansville, '01). During her tenure with the Yellowjackets, Iya has logged a school and career mark of 123-149.
NYU's Jolie Ward (Stony Brook Univ., '97) is in her fifth year in directing the fortunes of the Violets and will start the UAA Round Robin II with a school won-lost slate of 99-67. She has led the program to four seasons of 20 or more victories and a berth to the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
Second-year head coach Sharon Dingman leads Chicago into the weekend with a school record of 40-18. Last season, she led the Maroons to a spot in the NCAA Tournament and a final record of 26-13. In 25 seasons as a head coach, Dingman owns a career record of 442-354.
RECORDS – Emory starts the UAA RR II with an overall record of 22-2 record (3-0 University Athletic Association). The Eagles, ranked No. 3 in this week's AVCA D-III Top 25 Poll, have won their last 10 matches and are coming off a 3-0 triumph at Piedmont College on Monday before posting a 3-1 decision at home over Lee University on Tuesday.
Wash U, ranked No. 1 in the AVCA Poll, has won its last 10 outings and sports an overall mark of 22-1 (3-0 UAA). The Bears went 4-0 at last weekend's North Central Invitational, with one of those wins a 3-2 outcome over No. 11 Carthage.
Prior to meeting Emory, Rochester will take on Brandeis with an 11-10 record (1-2 UAA). The Yellowjackets played on Monday of this week, losing by a 3-0 count to Nazareth.
Prior to a Wednesday evening encounter against Stevens Institute of Technology, NYU claimed an overall record of 9-10 (0-3 UAA).
The No. 15-ranked Maroons of Chicago check into this weekend's action with a 14-5 slate (2-1 UAA). Chicago opens the RR II with Saturday battles against Case Western and Carnegie Mellon in what will represent its first matches since the Round Robin I (Oct. 3-4).
SERIES RECORDS – Wash U has won 50 of the 60 meeting against Emory. The two programs have split the last eight contests including last season when the Bears came away with a 3-2 win at the UAA Round Robin II before the Eagles bounced back to capture a 3-2 triumph in the finals of the NCAA St. Louis Regional.
Emory posts a 26-14 edge in the series with Rochester. The Eagles notched a pair of 3-0 wins last season.
Emory holds a 32-13 advantage against NYU. The Eagles and Violets met once last year, with Emory prevailing by a 3-0 margin at the Round Robin I.
Emory stands 34-13 all-time vs. Chicago. The Eagles came away with three win over the Maroons last year, starting with a 3-2 triumph at the Elmhurst Invitational followed by 3-1 verdicts at the UAA RR II and in the finals of the UAA Championships.
EMORY CAPTAINS – Serving as the captains for the 2015 Emory volleyball team will be the senior duo of Sydney Miles (Oklahoma City, OK) and Ashley Crawford (Naperville, IL), along with juniors Jessica Holler (Roswell, GA) and Sarah Maher (Orange, CA).
MILES IN RARIFIED AIR – Sydney Miles finds herself in the No. 2 spot on the program's all-time ladder with 5,294 assists, trailing only Natalie Schonefeld's (2008-11) top mark of 5,732. During the UAA Round Robin I, she averaged 12.0 assists per set, and doled out 45 in the 3-0 win over Case Western
Miles finished the Lee contest on Tuesday with 53 assists, her fourth performance this season and 19th of her career with 50 or more. Against then No. 2 Christopher Newport (Sept. 25), she dished out a season-high 58 assists, tying her third-highest career total in a 3-2 win.
Through matches played Oct. 13, Miles ranks No. 2 in the UAA with an average of 11.82 assists per game. At the start of the week, Miles held down the No. 2 spot nationally in assists per set.
In addition to her assists total, Miles stands in the No. 14 spot on the Eagles' all-time ladder with 947 digs.
EAGLES RACKING UP THE HONORS -- The following is a list of various honors that Emory players have received this season
Calvin College Labor Day Weekend Invitational All-Tournament Team (Sept. 4-5)
Sydney Miles
Sarah Maher
Emory Classic All-Tournament Team (Sept. 11-12)
Sydney Miles (MVP)
Kathryn Trinka
Shannon Nugent
Emory National Invitational All-Tournament Team (Sept. 18-19)
Sydney Miles
UAA Player of the Week
Sydney Miles (Setter/Defense) – Sept. 8
Sydney Miles (Setter/Defense) – Sept. 21
Jessica Holler (Offense) – Sept. 21
Kathryn Trinka (Offense) – Sept. 28
Sydney Miles (Setter/Defense) – Sept. 28
Sarah Maher (Offense) – October 5
HOLLER ON HITTING TEAR – Jessica Holler wound up the Lee match on Tuesday with a hitting percentage of .409 (12-3—22), the third time in the last four outings and the ninth time this season in 17 matches that she hit .400 or higher.
Through matches played Oct. 13, Holler holds down the No. 2 slot in the league and nationally with a .437 attack percentage (142-3—22), which currently ranks as the program's No. 1 seasonal mark. In addition to her stellar hitting percentage, Holler is ranked 17th among UAA performers in kills per set (2.33) and is second in service aces per set (0.43). Holler has two or more aces to her credit in her last four contests, 10 on the year.
NOTES– Emory finished the Lee match with a season-high 81 digs while its 59 kills was the third-highest output of the campaign … Freshman Becky Breuer finished with a season-high 28 digs in the Lee contest, her sixth effort of the campaign with 20 or more … Breuer is No. 2 on the UAA chart with an average 4.86 digs per set … In matches played through Oct. 13, Emory leads the UAA and is second nationally in hitting percentage (.300) … The Eagles are No. 3 in the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.122) … Emory has played seven foes ranked in the Top 25 (5-2) … Senior Ashley Crawford tied for team honors after chalking up a career-high 13 kills against Lee and notched her fifth double-figure performance of the season with 11 digs … Junior Shannon Nugent continues her steady play, hitting 1.000 (6-0—6) vs. Piedmont on Monday, followed by a .412 performance (8-1—17) against Lee … Nugent has hit .400 or higher in her last seven matches and shows an attack percentage of .515 (39-5—66) in that stretch … Nugent heads into the Round Robin II No. 3 on the conference list in hitting percentage (.397, 118-24—237) … Emory has been dominant on its home floor, fashioning a 337-52 (.866) won-lost ledger since the 1992 campaign … Since the 2008 season, Emory stands 114-9 (.926) in contests played at the Woodruff PE Center … The Eagles have hit .300 or higher on 11 occasions this year including .446 against Piedmont that represented their second-highest effort of the season … Kathryn Trinka leads the team and ranks No. 2 in the UAA with a 3.87 kills-per-set average, and has recorded 20 matches of double-figure kills … Trinka's 20 terminations in the Piedmont match tied her career high and tied the program's seventh-highest total for a three-set match … Trinka resides in the No. 7 spot on the UAA chart with a .309 hitting percentage (298-79—709) … Trinka has the top three and four of the top five individual kills total recorded by an Emory player this season … Sarah Maher holds down second place on the team's score sheet with a 2.90 kills-per-set average, good for sixth position on the league list … Maher's 12 kills in the Lee match represented her 13th performance of double figures … In addition, Maher is second on the team and 15th among UAA players in digs per set (2.86 dps) …Emory has enjoyed an edge in hitting percentage in 22 matches this season and has been outhit in terms of percentage just three times over the last 67 contests … Jessica Holler paces the team and is No. 4 on the UAA ladder in blocks (0.80 bps) … Career-wise, Holler is No. 8 at Emory with 337 total blocks.
NEW FACES ON THE EMORY ROSTER – Nine talented freshmen comprise this year's 19-player roster with those rookies being: Mady Arles (Richmond, VA), Mila Barzdukas (Studio City, CA), Becky Breuer (Aurora, IL), Karissa Dzurik (Columbia, PA), Mira Grinsfelder (St. Paul, MN), Yasmeen Johnson (Mundelein, IL), Sydney Leimbach (Atlanta, GA), Carly Saitman (Hidden Hills, CA) and Samantha Sestanovich (Manhattan Beach, CA).