The Emory University volleyball program put on a dominating performance over fellow Atlanta foe Oglethorpe on Friday afternoon sweeping the Stormy Petrels 3-0 in the annual Dig Pink match.
The No. 7 ranked Eagles win their fifth straight match and improve to 12-2 on the season with their third-straight 3-0 victory. Juniors
Sophia Luo and
Gabija Staniskis led the way offensively for Emory totaling 16 kills between the two of them while the trio of
Sophie Zerrouki,
Kate LaRocco and
Maggie Regan totaled 10 blocks in the matchup.
Set one started with a back and forth battle between the two programs with the Eagles holding a slight 6-4 lead over the Stormy Petrels to start the match. A combination of kills from the offense and attack errors from Oglethorpe pushed Emory to a 15-6 advantage halfway through the set. The Stormy Petrels continued battling through the end of the set but Emory finished on an 8-3 run highlighted by kills from Luo and LaRocco to clinch the first set, 25-13.
After the Eagles dominated their way to a 10-4 lead in the start of the second set, Oglethorpe went on an offensive rally to claim a 13-12 advantage over Emory. The Eagles were able to fight back to hold a 16-13 lead but the Stormy Petrels kept toe-to-toe with the home team bringing the score to a 22-19 Emory advantage. Kills from senior
Kaya Monrose and Luo helped the Eagles to three straight points at the end of the set for a 25-19 win in set two.
Emory continued the offensive momentum right into the third set opening with a 7-2 lead with service aces from senior
Caroline Coyle and
Carolina Ufret highlighting the beginning of the set. After Oglethorpe scored their third point of the set, the Eagles went on a 9-3 run to hold a 10-point, 16-6 advantage. The Stormy Petrels were able to add four more points to their total in the end of the set but the Eagles were able to take advantage of attack errors from their opponent for a 9-4 run to finish the set, 25-11.
The Eagles will hit the road for the second UAA Round Robin tournament and will face the Chicago Maroons and NYU Violets on Sunday, October 12 at 12:00 and 2:00 PM in Cleveland, Ohio.
