The Emory University volleyball team fell to the No. 2 seeded NYU Violets on Saturday afternoon in the title match of the UAA Championships in Atlanta, Georgia in five-set fashion.
The Eagles now sit 24-2 on the season and look forward to the NCAA Tournament with plans to continue one of the longest active appearance streaks in Division III. The Eagles dropped the match with a 22-25, 16-25, 25-15, 25-18. 13-15 line after defeating Rochester and Chicago to reach the finals.
Junior Lily Martin had 15 kills on the day, the second best of her season while senior Carly Wallace followed her with 13 kills. Junior Sarah Luong had a season-best 30 assists on the day and recorded a double-double with another season-best 16 digs. Teammate Madison Cail led the Eagles with a .385 hitting percentage (11-1—26) with fellow junior Alana Dawson following with a .290 percentage (12-3—31).
The Eagles jumped to a quick 6-0 start in the first set thanks to three kills from Dawson to force NYU into a timeout. The Violets were able to score following the timeout but Emory rallied again to take a 12-3 lead into the next timeout. The Eagles then took a 19-8 lead before NYU answered with a rally of their own to take the first set 25-22.
NYU started the second set with a 7-3 lead over Emory and were able to hold the lead for the remainder of the second set. The Violets took advantage of attack errors from the Eagles' offense to take a 19-14 lead into the first timeout of the set. The scoring continued for the Violets and they took set two 25-16.
After a much needed break between sets, Emory was on the hunt for a comeback and took a 10-5 lead at the beginning of set three. The Eagles then jumped to a 19-11 lead at the second timeout of the set and were determined to keep their advantage this time. Kills from Martin and Cail finished the set for the Eagles 25-15 to head to the fourth.
Emory continued their momentum in the fourth set holding an 11-8 lead forcing another early timeout from the Violets. The energy was high as kills from Wallace and sophomore Kaya Monrose helped Emory to a 25-18 victory in the fourth set to force a set five.
With the title match on the line, both teams were determined to take home the hardware and earn an automatic qualification into the NCAA Tournament. NYU was able to score early and take a 5-3 lead over Emory but kills from Wallace and Cail gave the Eagles a 7-5 followed by a timeout from the Violets. The Eagles then held a slight 8-10 lead before NYU tied the set at 10. The scoring continued back and forth for both teams with Emory calling a timeout with a 13-13 tie. The Violets' effort came through and they took the set 15-13.
The Eagles will prepare for the NCAA Tournament and will find out who and when they will play during the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, November 13 at 1 pm.