The No. 6 Emory volleyball team opened its participation at the Cal Lutheran Invitational on Friday by winning a pair of matches against nationally ranked opponents.  The Eagles opened with a 3-0 decision over No. 14 Trinity University (25-22, 25-22, 25-22) before closing with an impressive 3-0 triumph vs. No. 4-ranked and host Cal Lutheran (25-17, 25-16, 25-21).  Emory is 5-1 on the season.

Against the host Regals, Emory turned in an impressive defensive display, holding CLU to a .105 hitting percentage (39-26—124) while countering with a .250 effort (29-6—92).  Sophomore middle Jessica Holler played a key role in the decision, racking up six total blocks (2-4) and helping the Eagles to a 13-1 edge in that category.  Holler also registered a team-high nine kills and hit .500 for the contest (9-0—18).  Sophomore Sarah Maher and senior Leah Jacobs each contributed six terminations to the cause with Jacobs adding three blocks (2-1).  Senior Kate Bowman led the squad with 13 digs.

The Eagles had their offense in high gear against Trinity, concluding the match with a .320 hitting mark (46-13—103) compared to the Tigers' .223 (38-15—103).  Jacobs was Emory's leader with 14 kills en route to finishing with a .462 hitting mark (14-2—26), while sophomore Kathryn Trinka came through with a career-high 10 terminations to go along with a .333 attack effort (10-3—21).  Junior setter Sydney Miles dished out 38 assists and chipped in five digs while Bowman registered 15 digs.

Emory winds up play at the Invitational on Saturday with matches vs. No. 15 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and No. 23 Mary Hardin-Baylor.