The Emory University volleyball program had another excellent season, finishing 25-6 and making its 25th consecutive appearance in the NCAA postseason. Head coach Jenny McDowell, in her 25th season at the helm of the program, guided the Eagles through their first season since 2019 all the way to the finals of the Atlanta Regional where their season came to an end.

Emory opened the season on a hot streak winning five straight matches, including four at the home Emory Classic tournament, before traveling out West to face some of the top teams in the nation. At the East-West Challenge in Thousand Oaks, CA the Eagles dropped touch matches to eventual NCAA semifinalist Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and NCAA quarterfinalist Trinity while picking up a win over Saint Benedict. The Eagles would go 17-3 the rest of the regular season, that included both a seven match and an eight-match winning streak, with their only losses coming to NYU and NCAA quarterfinalist Berry.

After a runner-up finish at the UAA Championships, Emory landed an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and were selected as a host site for regional play. The Eagles drew 28-4 Southern Virginia in the first round but discarded them with ease in straight sets. Emory faced a bigger challenge in the second round when they faced off against UT-Dallas but emerged victorious in four tight sets. In the regional final, Emory and Berry matched up for the third time during the 2021 season with series score tied at one apiece. Despite the Eagles best efforts, the Vikings proved too much to overcome as Emory fell 3-0 to close out their season.

Emory led the UAA in total kills at 1,443 and finished with the 34th most in the nation. Arguably the strongest part of Emory's game was the efficiency of its attack registering a hitting percentage of 0.244 which saw them finish with the 17th highest percentage in the nation. The Eagles implemented a strong passing game to drive their success finishing in the top 25 in the nation in assists per set (12.16) and first in the conference and 28th in the nation in total assists with 1,350.

Emory had two players earn AVCA All-American honors during the 2021 season. Senior Tara Martin was selected to the AVCA All-American Third Team, marking her second consecutive selection to an All-American team, while junior Cassie Srb earned an All-American Honorable Mention nod.

Martin had a strong season for the Eagles leading both the team and the conference in total kills (337). Earning a spot on the All-American third team and her second consecutive All-UAA First Team, Martin now sits 11th in program history in kills per set for her career having recorded 2.95 terminations per set. She recorded double digit kills in 21 of a possible 31 matches and recorded a season-high and team-high 18 kills in a five-set victory over Carnegie Mellon. Also a back row player, Martin set her career-high in digs this season with 18 in a three set loss to NYU on November 6th.

Martin was one of four players on the Emory squad, along with junior Cassie Srb, freshman Deborah Hong and freshman Madison Cail named to an All-UAA team. Despite an injury cutting her first collegiate season short, Cail had a phenomenal season for the Eagles as the leading blocker on the team. She finished fifth in the conference and first on the team with 66 total blocks on the season. Hong, serving as an exclusively back-line player, led the team in both digs (328) and service aces (44) as part of her spectacular freshman year.

Freshman Alana Dawson had a stellar freshman season of her own finishing second on the team in total kills (275) on a hitting percentage of .295 which was the fourth best mark in the conference. She played an integral role in the NCAA Second Round matchup with UT-Dallas where she had 11 kills on a team-leading .421 hitting percentage.

Along with Martin there were five other seniors on the roster including Ashley Brennan, Roisin O'Dowd, Charlese Blair, Claire Yohann and Lauren Bandera.

The Eagles earned the following honors during the 2021 season: