Stats
The Emory volleyball team has moved into the semifinal round of the NCAA D-III Championships following a thrilling Thursday afternoon victory against Clarkson University in the quarterfinals. The Eagles won for the 14th straight time and raised their overall record to 33-2 following a 3-2 decision (25-22, 22-25, 25-12, 22-25, 15-11) over the Golden Knights who closed out their season at 28-6. The Championships are being held at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Senior Morgan McKnight led all players with a career-high 22 kills, her 16th straight and 26th outing of the year in double figures. McKnight, who hit .404 (22-3—47) in the contest, picked up four of her terminations in the decisive fifth set. McKnight had plenty of offensive help with sophomore Tara Martin next up on the squad's score sheet with 18 successful attack attempts, her 18th double-digit effort of the season and second-highest career mark. Martin also added four block assists to the cause. Junior Leah Saunders hit .333 on the strength of 16 kills with five errors in 33 swings, while also logging 14 digs in notching her third straight and 13th double-double of the year.
For the match, the Eagles held the edge in hitting percentage, turning in a solid mark of .293 (68-22—157) compared to the Golden Knights' showing of .204 (57-26—152), the 30th time this year they outhit the opposition. Emory finished with a slight 60-56 advantage in digs with senior Elyse Thompson leading the club with 18. Clarkson registered seven total blocks to Emory's six.
Clarkson held the upper hand early in the fifth game by scoring the first three points of the set. Undeterred, the Eagles countered by going on a 4-0 run with kills from junior Finn Wilkins and McKnight accounting for the final two points of that spurt. Deadlocked at 5-5, a McKnight termination followed by a service ace from Logan van Reken, one of the team's two in the set and three in the match, pushed Emory to a two-point advantage. After splitting the next two points, and with the Eagles nursing an 8-6 lead, a well-time 5-2 burst, highlighted by a pair of kills from Martin and an ace by Kelsey Meins, allowed them to take command at 13-8. Clarkson drew to within three points, but a kill by Rimmel set the stage for McKnight to fittingly close out the contest with the final point. The victory boosted Emory's record to 6-0 in five-set matches this year.
Emory used seven kills by McKnight in rallying to take the first set. The Eagles led by a 12-7 count at one stage in the game, but the Golden Knights regrouped to claim a 22-21 lead following a successful swing by Rachel Reusch. However, Emory closed out the set on a 4-0 run, ignited by back-to-back kills from McKnight, to take the game.
The Golden Knights posted their best hitting mark of the match in the second set, checking in at .286 in evening the contest. The Eagles trailed by an 8-4 score before fighting back to eventually take a 17-15 lead following a kill by Martin. Clarkson responded by scoring four unanswered points to take a two-point advantage, but kills by Martin and Rimmel keyed a 3-0 spurt that put Emory ahead, 20-19. With the score tied at 21-21, Clarkson came through with the next two points before a kill by Rimmel narrowed the gap to one. However, the Golden Knights finished off the set thanks to a kill by Reusch followed by an ace from Kristin Werdine.
The Eagles dominated the third set, hitting .360 (13-4—25) in taking a 2-1 lead in the match. Trailing by a 4-2 margin, Emory unleashed a 10-1 barrage, highlighted by three kills from Martin, to bolt to a 12-5 cushion. Up by a 16-10 count, Emory used a 5-1 spurt, which saw McKnight post a pair of kills and Saunders one termination to go along with a block assist to assume a 21-11 lead.
With the prospect of its season coming to an end, Clarkson totaled five straight points that erased a three-point Eagle lead and gave it a 19-17 advantage in the fourth set. McKnight came through with a kill that tied the set at 21-21 but the Golden Knights accounted for the next two points. A kill by Saunders, one of her six in the game, drew Emory to within one, but Clarkson ended the Emory comeback bid, setting the stage for the fifth set.
Emory's opponent in the semifinals will be No. 4-ranked Carthage College (31-3) with the match slated for a 6:00 pm start (EST). The Lady Reds swept Bowdoin in the quarterfinals on Thursday. It will mark the seventh time in program history and fourth since 2013 that the Eagles have moved into the semifinal round.