The Emory University volleyball program is heading back to the Elite Eight for the 13th time in program history, the first time since 2019, after defeating the Trinity (TX) Tigers, 3-1, on Saturday afternoon in Atlanta, Georgia in the regional final.
 
The Eagles improve to 29-2 after winning their eighth straight match, the first time since 2019 with 29 or more wins in a season. After defeating the Covenant Scots 3-0 on Thursday, Emory completed another 3-0 thrilling win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Friday to reach the regional final match today. Trinity (TX) and Emory faced off last season in the Mount Berry Regional Final with the Tigers taking the 3-1 victory.
 
For her efforts during the tournament, senior Deborah Hong was named the Atlanta Regional Most Valuable Player while teammates Madison Cail and Alana Dawson joined her on the Atlanta Regional All-Tournament team.
 
In the win today against the Tigers, junior Kate LaRocco and sophomore Sophia Luo dominated the offense totaling 29 kills between the two of them while the duo of Sarah Luong and Olivia Rabinowitz totaled 47 assists. Hong continued to show her MVP status posting 27 digs in the match followed by 15 from LaRocco.
 
The first point of the match came on a kill from Rabinowitz before attack errors from the Tigers gave Emory a 4-1 lead. Trinity answered with four straight points to reclaim the lead, but the Eagles fought back to take an 11-7 advantage. The scoring continued on both sides of the net for the next few points and Emory was able to break 20 points thanks to kills from Cail and junior Sophie Zerrouki. The Tigers finished the set with a 6-5 run but the effort fell short and Emory took the first set, 25-20.
 
Both programs opened the second set going toe-to-toe seeing seven ties in the first 16 points of the set. After Trinity took a 9-8 lead, Emory followed with a 6-3 run with kills from Luo and LaRocco to hold a slight 14-12 advantage. The Tigers responded with three straight points to reclaim the lead and they were able to hold onto it until the end of the set taking the second set with a 25-22 line.
 
Trinity started the third set with a strong 7-3 start but Dawson and Zerrouki notched kills to take a 9-8 lead. Senior Jessica Majka entered the scoring for Emory helping the Eagles to a 14-12 lead but the Tigers were able to tie the set at 14 apiece. After Trinity cut into Emory's lead 18-17, the Eagles finished the set with seven straight points, including four kills from Dawson, to take the third set 25-17.
 
Once again, the Tigers were not backing down to start the fourth set opening with a 12-9 advantage over Emory. The Eagles fought back and forth for the next few points to hold a 14-13 lead but Trinity kept up to later tie the set at 15-15. The Tigers went point for point cutting into Emory's lead 20-19 but the Eagles finished the set with a 5-2 run to clinch the match with a 25-21 win in set four.
 
The Eagles will travel to Salem, Virginia for the remainder of the tournament and will later learn their seeding and their opponent for the Elite Eight.