The Emory University volleyball program completed the 3-2 comeback win against the Case Western Reserve University Spartans on Sunday afternoon in New York City in the final match of the first UAA Round Robin tournament of the season.
The No. 7 ranked Eagles improve to 14-1 with the win over the No. 21 ranked Spartans and start conference play with a 3-0 record. Senior Jessica Majka continued her impressive weekend adding a season-high 18 kills to her total while fellow senior Alana Dawson added 14 kills against CWRU. Junior Olivia Rabinowitz was another standout Eagle on the day posting 35 assists, the second most this season.
Emory dominated the first set taking an early 7-5 lead before posting four straight points highlighted by kills from junior Kate LaRocco. The two teams continued back and forth before the Eagles were able to pull away to a 10-point, 19-9 lead with sophomore Sophia Luo notching three back to back kills. Emory finished the set with a 6-5 run taking the first set 25-14.
CWRU started the second set strong falling 6-7 before going on a 5-4 run to take a slight 12-10 lead. The scoring continued on both sides of the net and the Eagles were able to later tie the match at 16 apiece. Following a 21-19 lead from Emory, the Spartans posted four straight points to regain the lead, 23-21. The fight wasn't over though as the Eagles responded with four points of their own to take set two 25-23.
The Eagles got a jumpstart in the third set taking a 10-3 advantage highlighted by kills from Majka and fellow senior Madison Cail. The Spartans answered with five points of their own to cut into Emory's lead but the Eagles continued with points of their own to maintain their 15-10 lead. The momentum from Emory continued to a 23-18 lead but the Spartans were on the hunt for a win going on an 8-1 run to finish the third set, 26-24.
Much like the third set, set four was another back and forth battle on both sides of the net. CWRU opened the set with a 7-4 advantage and continued with the lead until the Eagles were able to tie the set at 16 points. The lead continued to fluctuate between both programs and the Spartans finished the set with a 7-3 run to take set four 25-22 and tie the match 2-2.
The fifth set was a battle with both teams looking for another conference win for the books. The Eagles were able to start with a 5-4 lead taking advantage of service errors from the Spartans. After CWRU tied the match at seven apiece, Emory followed with four straight points to hold an 11-7 lead and the Spartans answered with three points to cut into the Eagles' lead. The momentum from CWRU ended as Emory finished set five with five straight points to clinch the set and match with a 15-10 line.