The Emory University volleyball team split two matches against top-25 programs at the UAA Round Robin II Sunday afternoon, first defeating No. 23 Washington-St. Louis in three sets (25-14, 25-17, 25-21) before dropping a four-setter to No. 16 New York University (14-25, 25-13, 25-21, 25-23). The second round robin was hosted by Brandeis University in Waltham, MA.
The No. 7 ranked Eagles now stand 13-3 overall and 4-1 in conference play after seeing their seven-match win streak snapped against the Violets. NYU swept both of its matches on the afternoon to remain undefeated at 14-0, 5-0 and the Bears moved to 10-5, 2-3 with a Sunday split.
Emory led off the day with a straight set verdict over WashU with senior Tara Martin and freshman Alana Dawson pacing the Eagles attack with nine and eight kills, respectively. Freshman Madison Cail added six terminations and a team-best four total blocks. The Eagles as a unit hit .202 (35-15—99) compared to WashU's .072 (28-21—97) and outgained the Bears in digs, 44-41, with sophomore Carly Wallace and senior Cassie Srb reaching double figures in that category with 11 and 10.
After two relatively quick sets to begin the match, the Eagles found themselves in a hole to open the third, falling behind 7-1. However, three Bears attacking errors in addition to three Martin kills help Emory regain the lead with an 11-4 run. The scoring would go back-and-forth in the set, becoming tied six more times as neither team could gain a sizeable lead.
With the score knotted at 19, the Eagles went a 5-1 burst thanks to a pair of Wallace kills. WashU got one point back to make it 24-21 but a kill by Martin clinched the win.
Next up was a meeting between the two remaining undefeated teams in conference action with the Violets taking the win in a tightly contested match.
NYU attacked at a .243 clip (53-17—148), seeing three players reach double figures in terminations highlighted by Ella Spaethling's 14. The Eagles also posted a .243 attack percentage (53-17—148) with five different players recording at least seven kills headlined by Martin's 14. Emory collected 65 digs to NYU's 63 with freshman Deborah Hong tallying 14. The Violets won the battle at the net with a 16-6 advantage in total blocks.
Following double-digit wins by both teams in the first two sets, the match was decided by wins of four and two in the third and fourth sets.
Five ties and four lead changes amounted to the score being deadlocked at 14 midway through the third. A 7-2 New York rally followed though, including three kills from Haley Holz, and Emory was unable to come back within one as the Violets held on for a 25-21 win.
NYU was off to an 8-3 start in the fourth before the Eagles were to claw back, coming within three points on three occasions before a Violets' error made it 24-23 late. Unfortunately, Spaethling delivered a kill to seal the victory.
Emory will return to the court this Saturday, October 9 with a non-conference match at Sewanee beginning at 5:00 PM EDT.