The Emory University volleyball program took two wins on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania against the Brandeis Judges and New York University Violets and clinched the No. 1 seed at the UAA Championships after finishing conference play with a perfect 7-0 record.
 
The Eagles improve to 19-1 on the season with their seventh conference win and won their 15^th consecutive match this season. Senior Alana Dawson continued her impressive season against UAA opponents totaling 16 kills across the two matches while fellow senior Madison Cail finished the day with 15 kills. Senior Deborah Hong tied her season high posting 26 digs against the Judges and 42 total digs across seven sets.
 
Game 1: Emory 3, Brandeis 1
 
The Judges were able to take the first set of the match after a tough fought battle on both sides of the net. After Brandeis started the set with a 15-8 lead, the Eagles answered with a 7-1 run to cut into the Judges' lead. The scoring continued from both programs towards the end of the set and Emory had its eyes set on the finish line holding a 23-21 advantage. The Judges were able to finish with four straight points to close out set one.
 
Set two was another close matchup with the Eagles taking the early 8-5 advantage. Following the start, Emory went on a 10-4 run highlighted by kills from junior Kate LaRocco and sophomore Sophia Luo to hold an 18-9 lead towards the end of the set. Brandeis fought their way back taking advantage of attack errors and kills to cut Emory's lead to 23-21 but the Eagles finished the set with a 25-21 line.
 
Emory dominated the third set starting with an 8-1 lead before both sides continued with the scoring for the next few points. After the Judges cut into Emory's lead 16-10, the Eagles finished the end of the set with a 7-1 run thanks to kills from seniors Lily Martin and Jessica Majka taking the third set with a 25-11 score.
 
The Eagles carried that momentum into the fourth set holding a 7-3 advantage to start the set before the Judges later tied the set at 13 apiece while posting five kills in the run. The back and forth continued seeing four more ties while Emory was able to pull away with a 22-21 lead before clinching the match with a 25-21 fourth set win.
 
Game 2: Emory 3, NYU 0
 
Just a few hours later, the Eagles were looking for a perfect regular season conference record facing the reigning UAA Champions. Emory opened the set with an 8-3 lead thanks to kills from Dawson and Majka but the Violets were carrying momentum as well later tying the set at 15 apiece. Both sides of the net saw points towards the end of the set seeing another tie at 21 before Emory finished the set with four straight points for a 25-21 win in the first set. '
 
Emory dominated the start of the second set opening with a 9-2 lead seeing three service aces from senior Sarah Luong. Following the opening lead, the Eagles went on a slight 7-5 run to hold a 16-7 advantage towards the middle of the set. The Violets continued fighting but Emory was able to take a win in the second set 25-16 needing a win in set three to clinch the No. 1 seed.
 
NYU was able to take the early advantage in the third set holding a slight 6-5 lead to start the set. The Eagles were able to reclaim the lead after going on a 4-4 run before the Violets tied the set at 13 apiece. Emory posted two more points that were answered by five straight points from NYU to give them an 18-15 lead towards the end of the set. The Eagles wouldn't let that dampen the momentum following with seven straight points on five kills and two service aces to take a 22-18 lead and later clinched the match with a 25-21 win in the third set.
 
The Eagles will return to the WoodPEC in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday, November 2 to face the Roanoke College Maroons at 1:00 PM.