The No. 13 ranked Emory University volleyball team opened the 2023 season with a bang defeating the Centre Colonels 3-0 in its first match of the Jenny McDowell Invitational honoring former head coach Jenny McDowell.

The Eagles put together a 25-14, 25-21, 25-16 score line in what looked like a picture perfect start to the season. The Colonels defeated the Greensboro Pride earlier in the day and finished Friday with a 1-1 record in the tournament.

Junior Alana Dawson was the star of the show registering 14 kills, just four away from her career-high, to notch a .565 hitting percentage (14-1-23). Junior Sarah Luong also had herself a night with a team-leading 23 assists and 11 digs while teammate Deborah Hong led the team with 18 digs on the night hoping to continue to add to her career numbers.

Emory jumped to an early 6-1 lead in the first set by the first timeout and continued their dominating set with a 21-12 lead by the next timeout. The next match saw closer action with the Eagles taking an 11-14 lead halfway through the set before going on a scoring run to take set two. This continued through set three and Emory starts the season with a 1-0 record.

The Eagles are set to play two games on the second day of the invitational, the first against the Pride before taking on the East Texas Baptist University Tigers at 5:30 pm.