The Emory University volleyball program is one of 64 schools competing in the 2019 NCAA D-III Tournament.
The Eagles begin the quest to defend their national title this weekend (Nov. 15-17) when they host the eight-team NCAA Atlanta Regional. Action at the Woodruff PE Center begins on Friday with four quarterfinal-round battles, followed by Saturday's semifinals. The championship clash will take place on Sunday afternoon.
Emory's opening-round foe will be Notre Dame of Maryland University from the Colonial States Athletic Conference. Emory enters the Atlanta Regional as the No. 1 seed while Notre Dame is No. 8.
The winner of the Regional will advance to next week's national quarterfinals in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The schedule for the Regional is as follows with times listed as Eastern Standard.
Friday, Nov. 15
Match 1 – 12:30 pm – Colorado College (30-4) vs. Whitworth University (20-6)
Match 2 – 3:00 pm – Berry College (26-5) vs. Maryville College (27-6)
Match 3 – 5:30 pm – Birmingham Southern College (24-6) vs. Transylvania (27-4)
Match 4 – 8:00 pm – Emory (29-2) vs. Notre Dame of Maryland University (25-3)
Saturday, Nov. 16
Match 5 – 2:30 pm - Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner
Match 6 – 5:00 pm – Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner
Sunday, Nov. 17
2:00 pm – Championship Match
The Eagles of head coach Jenny McDowell are making the program's 24th straight appearance (25th overall) in the postseason. Emory earned the University Athletic Association's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament following its first-place finish at the conference championships this past weekend. Emory opened with a sweep of Brandeis in the quarterfinals before battling to five-set victories against Washington University in the semifinals and No. 2-ranked Chicago in the title match. Emory enters the postseason with an overall record of 29-2.
McDowell, now in her 24th season directing fortunes of the program, has a school and career won-lost mark of 764-168 with 20 campaigns of 30 or more wins to her credit. Her record in the NCAA Tournament is 51-22 (Emory's all-time mark in the NCAA Tournament is 51-23). McDowell has guided Emory to six appearances in the national semifinals, national championships in 2008 and 2018 and national runner-up finishes in 2010 and 2014.
Notre Dame will match-up against Emory with a 25-3 overall record. The Gators, led by 13th-year Head Coach Henry Detitta, earned an automatic bid the NCAAs after winning their second straight Colonial States Athletic Conference Championship, defeating Cedar Crest College, 3-1, in the finals. A key member of the Notre Dame team is sophomore middle Alyssa Kerns, who was tabbed as CSAC Player of the Year. The 5-foot-10 Kerns leads the squad with an average of 3.17 kills over 93 sets and is hitting .347.
Berry College (26-5), the No. 2 seed, landed an automatic spot in the postseason after claiming its third straight Southern Athletic Conference championship this past weekend, sweeping Birmingham Southern in the finals. The Vikings are guided by fourth-year Head Coach Caitlyn Moriarty who has compiled a school and career won-lost slate of 105-26. Senior Carson VanCampen, who was recently named the SAA Player of the Year, leads the league with a .344 hitting percentage while ranking second with 1.17 blocks per set average. Senior Laura Beier was chosen as the SAA's Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight campaign. Berry is the No. 9-ranked team in the AVCA Top 25 Poll released Nov. 12.
No. 7-seeded Maryville College brings a ledger of 27-6 into its quarterfinal round tussle against Berry. The Scots punched their ticket to the NCAAs via automatic bid after bringing home the USA South Athletic Conference championship with a 3-1 triumph over Averett College. Now in her 34th campaign in calling the shots at MC, Head Coach Kandis Schram claims a school record of 791-421 which now includes 13 trips to the NCAA Tournament. Maryville saw three players selected to the All-USA South Conference First Team – senior Dejane Hester-Taylor, junior Maggie Mathews and sophomore Meredith Bonee.
Colorado College, the No. 3 seed, is making the school's 22nd straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers, 30-4 on the season, landed an at-large bid to the postseason after finishing runner-up to Trinity (TX) in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament. CC is directed by 22nd-year Head Coach Rick Swan who sports a career record of 577-174. Three Tigers were afforded First Team All-SCAC kudos, highlighted by senior setter Lizzy Counts' third straight selection. The 5-foot-7 Counts ranks as the league's leader in assists with a 9.03 per-set average. CC is ranked No. 8 nationally in this week's AVCA Poll.
No. 6 seed Whitworth earned an automatic bid after winning the Northwest Conference title. The Pirates check in with an overall record of 20-6 and closed out the league portion of their schedule at 14-2. Senior outside hitter Emiko Kahler, the school's all-time leader in kills, was selected as the Northwest Conference Player of the Year. She paces the league in kills per set (4.03 kps) and total kills (403). Kati Bodecker is in her seventh season as the head coach and stands 130-56.
Birmingham Southern, 24-6 on the year and the Atlanta Regional's No. 4 seed, landed an at-large bid to the national tournament after finishing runner-up to Berry in the Southern Athletic Association Tournament. Senior middle Rebecca Erwin is a first-team all-conference pick and averages 2.54 kills and 0.50 blocks over 103 sets. Freshman Alyssa Coats was recognized as well with her selection as the SAA Rookie of the Year. Haven O'Quinn, now in her third season at the helm of the Panthers' program, was chosen as the SAA Coach of the Year. Her school and career record is 69-22.
Transylvania secured the school's first-ever automatic nod to the NCAA Tournament after emerging with the title at the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship, sweeping Earlham in the final. The Pioneers, the No. 5 seed, stand 27-4 and come to Atlanta with a 13-match win streak. Transy is led by junior middle Ellie Stigger who was named the HCAC Offensive Player of the Year.The 6-foot Stigger led the league in both kills (4.24 kps) and blocks (1.04 bps) and dialed up a HCAC- best .392 hitting percentage. Amy Barmore, now in her second season patrolling the sideline, was named the conference's Coach of the Year.
EMORY AND THE NCAA FIELD – Emory played a total of 15 regular-season matches against 12 teams that advanced to this year's NCAA Tournament Championship, finishing with a 13-2 ledger in those encounters. The following demonstrates how the Eagles have done this year vs. teams that made the NCAA Tourney.
Birmingham Southern: 1-0
Berry College: 2-0
Wittenberg: 1-0
Washington University: 2-0
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps: 0-1
UW-Whitewater: 1-0
Chicago: 1-1
Christopher Newport: 1-0
Juniata: 1-0
Susquehanna: 1-0
Carnegie Mellon: 1-0
Johnson & Wales: 1-0
EAGLES RACKING UP THE HONORS -- The following is a list of various honors that Emory players have received this season
All-University Athletic Association
Leah Saunders – 1st Team, Most Valuable Player
Tara Martin - 1st Team
Morgan McKnight – 1st Team
Cassie Srb – 1st Team, Rookie of the Year
Elyse Thompson – 2nd Team
Maggie Rimmel – Honorable Mention
Emory Classic All-Tournament Team (Aug. 30-31)
Leah Saunders – MVP
Morgan McKnight
Elyse Thompson
East-To-West Battle All-Tournament Team (Sept. 13-14)
Leah Saunders
Emory Invitational All-Tournament Team (Oct. 25-27)
Leah Saunders – MVP
Tara Martin
Morgan McKnight
Elyse Thompson
Emory National Invitational All-Tournament Team (Nov. 1-2)
Tara Martin – MVP
Leah Saunders
UAA Player of the Week
Leah Saunders (Co-Hitter) – Sept. 3
Tara Martin (Co-Hitter) – Sept. 9
Leah Saunders (Hitter) – Oct. 7
Leah Saunders (Hitter) – Oct. 14
Elyse Thompson (Defense) – Oct. 14
Morgan McKnight (Hitter) – Oct. 21
Leah Saunders (Hitter) – Oct. 28
Tara Martin (Hitter) – Nov. 4
Morgan McKnight (Hitter) – Nov. 11
Elyse Thompson (Defense) – Nov. 11
BALANCED ATTACK FUELS EMORY OFFENSE – A check at the University Athletic Association statistics show that Emory has three of the top four performers in the kills-per-set category. Morgan McKnight is second on the league ladder with a mark of 3.21 kills per set while Leah Saunders is one spot behind at 3.20. Tara Martin rounds out the trio with her effort of 3.13 kills placing her fourth.
SRB DIRECTS EMORY OFFENSE -- Freshman setter Cassie Srb has directed the Emory offensive attack to the tune of 10.78 assists per set, good for the No. 2 spot among UAA players and 9h in the D-III ranks and 11th on the school's seasonal list. She has 40 or more assists to her credit on 14 occasions including a season-best 62, tying the school's 11th-highest single-game effort, against Washington University in the semifinals of the UAA Championships. Her total of 1,207 assists already places her 13th all-time at Emory.
McKNIGHT ENJOYING FINE SENIOR SEASON- Morgan McKnight has been a key offensive cog in the Emory attack this season and will head into the NCAA Regionals the team leader with 22 matches of double-figure kills (12 straight)
McKnight was chosen as the UAA Hitter of the Week for the second time this year following her performance at the UAA Championships where she averaged 3.77 kills and 1.00 digs over 13 sets of play. She came through with back-to-back career highs in terminations, starting with 19 (second on the team) in the win over Washington University in the semifinals and followed with a match-high 20 in the title contest against Chicago.
Career-wise, Morgan has racked up 56 matches of double-figure kills and totaled 1,161 successful attack attempts, good for 13th place all-time at Emory.
SAUNDERS ALL-AROUND PLAY A BOOST FOR THE EAGLES – Leah Saunders has proven to be a solid all-around player with her offensive and defensive play helping the Eagles to a No. 1 national ranking heading into the postseason.
Saunders is averaging 3.20 kills and 2.51 digs over 109 sets of play, and her .266 attack percentage is 12th among UAA leaders. She has racked up 19 matches of 10 or more kills, 14 contests of double-figure digs and 12 double-doubles (kills/digs). In addition, she has doled out 40 service aces, second on the team, and her 0.37 per-set average in that category is second on the club and 10th in the UAA.
STREAKS OF NOTE – Tara Martin has hit .300 or higher in her last seven matches (16 on the year) and posts an attack percentage of .389 (109-21—226) in that stretch … Elyse Thompson has four straight outings with two or more aces … Emory stands 16-0 at home this year.
NOTES & NUGGETS
Elyse Thompson, the school's all-time leader with 1,771 digs, leads the team and ranks fifth among UAA players with an average of 4.41 digs per set … Thompson has 10 matches of 20 or more digs this year including a season-high 28 vs. Birmingham Southern (Oct. 10) … Thompson has tallied a team-high 58 service aces, good for a 19th-place tie on the school's seasonal chart … Career-wise, Thompson has dialed up 162 aces, 13th all-time at Emory …Tara Martin, a two-time UAA Hitter of the Week and MVP of the Emory National Invitational, has amassed 16 outings of 10 or more kills … Martin's 25 terminations against Wash U in the semifinals of the UAA Championships represented a career best and the high-water mark by an Emory player this season … Leah Saunders has three matches of 20 or more kills … Emory leads the UAA and ranks 19th nationally in hitting percentage (.241) … The Eagles have enjoyed an edge in hitting percentage in 26 of their 31 contests this season … Emory has 195 service aces this season vs. 110 for the opposition … Junior Finn Wilkins has eight matches with four or more total blocks … Wilkins put together back-to-back matches of four blocks against Wash U and Chicago at last weekend's UAA Championships … Wilkins stands seventh on the Eagles' career list in blocks average (0.96 bps).