The No. 13-ranked Emory University volleyball team picked up a road victory Saturday evening, defeating the Sewanee Tigers in straight sets 25-17, 25-21, 25-22. The win moved the Eagles to 14-3 on the season while the loss dropped the Tigers to 5-8.
Senior Tara Martin and freshmen Lily Martin and Alana Dawson combined for 27 of the team's 41 kills as Emory recorded its ninth sweep of the year. The elder Martin notched 11 kills for the visiting Eagles with the younger Martin and Dawson each contributing eight terminations. The Eagles as a squad turned in a .254 hitting percentage (41-12—114) compared to Sewanee's .091 (28-18—110). T. Martin and classmate Roisin O'Dowd collected three total blocks as the Eagles tallied 10 total blocks in the contest.
After dropping the first set by an eight-point margin, the Tigers gained the early advantage in set two as they opened with a 6-2 burst following the opening serve. Emory eventually was able tie the score at 10 after an 8-4 and would take the lead at 12-11. The teams traded points until they knotted again at 16. A 6-0 run by the Eagles highlighted by three Dawson kills helped establish a six-point cushion as Emory never wavered for the remainder of the set.
In the third, the Eagles carried over the late momentum as they built a 6-0 lead right at the start. However, the Tigers did not go quietly as they mounted a comeback and evened the score at 14-14, capped off by a 5-0 run with two Ellie Pedersen kills. Neither team could gain much distance from the other as the set experienced five more ties until back-to-back terminations from L. Martin gave Emory a 22-20 edge. The Tigers would get as close as 23-22 but a kill by T. Martin followed by an attacking error from Sewanee's Ashley Crosby closed out the match in favor of the Eagles.
The victory rounded out a three-sport sweep for Emory over Sewanee athletic teams this week as the Eagles men's soccer program defeated the Tigers, 2-0, Monday night and the women's soccer program topping Sewanee, 3-0, in Tennessee on Tuesday.
Emory volleyball will return to action this Tuesday evening (Oct. 12) on the road against in-state foe Berry College before returning to UAA competition next Sunday, October 17th, against the University of Rochester and the University of Chicago as part of the UAA Round Robin III at the Woodruff PE Center in Atlanta, GA.