After being pushed to the brink on Friday, the No. 6 ranked Emory University volleyball team was tested once more on Saturday going up against a pair of top-10 programs to close out the East to West Battle on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis.
The Eagles dropped their first match of the year in the morning when No. 4 Johns Hopkins University handed the Eagles a four-set defeat, 22-25, 26-24, 20-25, 25-18, before they rebounded in the late afternoon with a four-set decision over No. 9 ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 28-30, 25-22, 25-23, 28-26.
Sophomore Sophia Luo had a big day for the Eagles as she combined to tally 24 kills across the two matches while senior Madison Cail finished with 18 including 10 against CMS. Senior Deborah Hong had 41 digs over the eight sets and junior Olivia Rabinowitz dished out 49 assists during the two matches.
At the conclusion of the tournament, senior Lily Martin was one of seven players named to the All-Tournament team.
Game 1: Johns Hopkins 3, Emory 1
The Eagles jumped out to an early lead in the first set of the morning, leading by as many as nine, and held a 20-12 advantage deep into the opening set. However, a 7-0 run which became a 10 out of 11-point stretch by the Blue Jays helped erase the deficit and carry JHU to the first set win, 25-22.
In the second set, the Eagles shook off the misfortune of the first set to seize an early 7-4 lead before JHU grabbed its first lead of the set at 10-9. The second frame continued its seesaw action before the Blue Jays claimed three straight to go in front 23-21. Emory responded though with a three-point swing of their own thanks to a kill from Luo and a double block from Luo and junior Sophie Zerrouki. JHU stopped the run but back-to-back kills from Luo and senior Jessica Majka sealed the set at 26-24.
Sets three and four were in more in favor of the Blue Jays as Johns Hopkins handed Emory its first loss of the 2024 campaign.
JHU took an early lead in the third frame and did not relinquish it until the Eagles rattled off four out of five points to move ahead 17-16. Despite the mid-set momentum, the Blue Jays countered by winning nine of the last 12 points to take the third set, 25-20.
In the fourth, the Eagles were the early aggressors as the team held a 12-9 edge. With the lead sitting at 13-11 Emory, the Blue Jays once more went on a scoring barrage, posting a 12-2 run to move ahead 23-15 en route to clinching the match with the fourth set score of 25-18.
Senior Alana Dawson and Luo paced the Eagles with double-digit kills with 13 and 10, respectively, but the Eagles turned in a .158 attack percentage (53-30—146) as a team across the four sets.
Game 2: Emory 3, CMS 1
The Eagles went in front 18-13 in the first set trying to bounce back from the morning session. However, CMS had an 11-4 run to move to set point at 24-22. Junior Kaya Monrose staved off defeat for two points, helping Emory move ahead at 25-24. The Eagles had a 28-27 advantage, but a pair of attack errors contributed to three straight points for the Athenas as they won the opening stanza, 30-28.
The Eagles bounced back in the second set as they hit .186 as team with 16 kills to win 25-22. An evenly played set saw Emory with a 17-13 lead before CMS cut it to one at 18-17 and 20-19. Four kills, two apiece from Cail and junior Kate LaRocco, down the stretch though helped seal the set win for the Eagles.
Emory rode the momentum of the second set close out to a 5-1 lead to begin the third, highlighted by kills from Luo and Martin. The Athenas stormed back to take a 12-10 lead but five straight points from the Eagles including three service aces from junior Caroline Coyle and another kill from Luo pushed Emory ahead at 15-12 and forcing CMS to burn a timeout. The Eagles remained in the lead for the remainder of the set, holding off a late surge from the Athenas.
The fourth set saw neither side grab a lead over three points. Trailing 21-19, the Eagles saw three straight points, capped off by an ace by Hong to give Emory a 22-21 lead and forcing CMS to use a timeout. Out of the break though, CMS took three of four points to go up 24-23 before a kill from LaRocco held off the set defeat. Down 26-25, the Eagles utilized three straight kills from junior Leneia Niko, Monrose and Zerrouki to clinch the set and match win.
Now standing at 5-1 through two weekends, Emory ventures to St. Paul, Minnesota next Friday and Saturday where the Eagles will oppose #12 Northwestern (MN), #10 Gustavus Adolphus and UW-Stevens Point.
