The Emory University volleyball program traveled to St. Paul, Minnesota and picked up a tournament-opening win against the No. 13 ranked University of Northwestern Eagles on Friday afternoon.
 
With the win, the No. 5 ranked Eagles improve to 6-1 to start the 2024 season and pick up their second ranked win this year. Sophomore Sophia Luo continues to be a force to be reckoned with tallying 15 kills in the win against the Eagles while senior Kaya Monrose and senior Madison Cail followed with 10 kills each. Juniors Olivia Rabinowitz and Ioanna Copulos helped the Emory offense totaling 41 assists between the two while senior Deborah Hong posted 17 digs in the match.
 
Both teams were able to start the first set of the match on a high note with UNW taking a slight 4-3 lead before its first substitutions of the set. They followed with six straight points forcing Emory into a timeout before Emory was able to score three more points on kills from three different Eagles. UNW continued their momentum with another six straight points to hold an 18-9 advantage towards the end of the set. Emory looked for a late-set comeback with kills from Lily Martin and Luo, but UNW was able to take the set with a 25-14 line.
 
The second set started just like the first with UNW taking an early 4-3 lead but Emory was able to come back quickly and tie the match at five points apiece. Following the tie, Emory went on a 8-3 run highlighted by kills from freshman Maria Flynn and Monrose before forcing UNW into a timeout. Another three straight points from Emory pushed UNW into another timeout followed by three kills from Luo helping Emory take an 18-11 lead. Emory finished the set with a 7-4 run to take set two, 25-15.
 
Another 4-3 lead from UNW started the third set of the match but Emory was able to pull away quickly on back to back kills from sophomore Sophie Zerrouki and junior Kate LaRocco. UNW added two more points to their score but the offensive power continued from Cail and Monrose with Emory taking a 12-6 lead forcing UNW into a timeout. Following the break, both teams went on a 5-5 run followed by three straight points from UNW prompting a break from Emory. Out of the timeout, Emory continued to pull away slowly taking advantage of attack errors to finish the third set with a 25-19 win.
 
UNW took an early advantage to start the fourth set of the match holding a 6-5 lead before Emory's first subs of the set. After Emory tied the match at seven apiece, the Eagles went on a 4-1 run to hold an 11-8 advantage forcing UNW into a timeout to regroup. Out of the break, UNW worked on a comeback but Emory was able to keep a four point, 18-14 lead over their opponent at the next timeout. After a later timeout from Emory, the momentum continued and Emory was able to take the set with a 25-21 score to clinch the match.
 
The Eagles will return to the court tomorrow, September 14 to face Gustavus Adolphus College at 12:00 PM EST and UW-Stevens Point at 2:00 PM EST.