The No. 14 ranked Emory University volleyball program will once again play for the University Athletic Association championship after sweeping both Brandeis University and No. 20 ranked University of Chicago to advance to the title match. The 2021 UAA Championships are hosted by Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, OH.
The two-time reigning champion Eagles made quick work of both the Judges and Maroons Friday afternoon and will now take on No. 11 ranked New York University (25-1 overall) in Saturday's championship bout starting at 1:00 PM. The Violets handed Emory its only UAA defeat back on October 3rd, winning in four sets (25-14, 13-25, 25-21, 25-23) in Waltham, MA. NYU downed Rochester in three sets before needing a four-setter to best Carnegie Mellon on Friday.
The winner will earn the league's automatic postseason bid with the NCAA tournament field being announced on Monday, November 8th. Coverage links can be found here: https://athletics.case.edu/sports/wvball/2021-22/2021UAAChampionships#h14sj7w2om80wj1v7j1vu4czu1t8efce.
Emory 3, Brandeis 0 – 25-14, 25-14, 25-9
The Eagles needed just 66 minutes to dispatch the Judges in the opening round of the tournament. Freshman Lily Martin paced the Emory attack with a match-high 10 kills with classmate Alana Dawson chipping in with nine while hitting a blistering .643 (9-0—14). The Eagles hit .326 (44-13—95) as a unit with four players recording at least seven kills. Junior setter Cassie Srb notched 42 assists, her sixth match of at least 40 or more, while sophomore Carly Wallace and freshman Deborah Hong each reached double figures in digs with 12 and 13, respectively.
The Eagles claimed the first six points of the opening set, setting the tone for the first round matchup. The Judges inched back to make it 9-6 but a 5-1 response gave Emory the distance it needed to clinch the first set.
Brandeis had a strong start to the second, opening with a 4-1 advantage, however a 10-2 answer put the Eagles back in front at 11-6. The Judges were able to make it 13-11 but a 7-0 from the Eagles sealed set two.
In the third, the two sides were even through the first eight points before Emory went on a 12-1 run to virtually clinch the victory. The teams split the next six points, making the score 18-8, before the Eagles went on a 7-1 run to advance to the semifinals.
Emory 3, Chicago 0 – 25-22, 25-23, 25-17
In the second part of Friday's double dip, it was Dawson and senior Tara Martin doing the heavy lifting for the Eagles as they combined for 28 of the team's 49 kills in the semifinal victory. Dawson turned in 15 terminations, her second-highest output of the season, while hitting .435 (15-5—23) with Martin posting 13 kills on a .312 attack percentage (13-3—32). Lily Martin and senior Roisin O'Dowd each contributed seven kills to help power the Eagles over Chicago.
Each of the first two sets were back-and-forth matchups with Emory winning by a combined five points. The third set was more of the same with the Eagles leading 10-8 through the first portion of the set prior to Emory ripping off a 7-1 spurt to seize control of the set, forcing Chicago to call its second timeout.
Out of the break, the Eagles extended their lead to 22-12 before four consecutive UC points made it a seven-point game. Kills by L. Martin and O'Dowd helped put Emory on the cusp of winning at 24-17, with a Maroon attacking error clinching the deal.