No. 23 Tartans Move On in NCAA Volleyball Tournament, Top No. 10 Hope, 3-2

No. 23 Tartans Move On in NCAA Volleyball Tournament, Top No. 10 Hope, 3-2

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The 23rd-ranked Carnegie Mellon University volleyball team advanced to the regional final of the 2025 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship with a 3-2 win against 10th-ranked Hope College on Friday at home at the Highmark Center for Health, Wellness and Athletics.

How it Happened

  • Hope had a powerful first set, winning 25-14 before the Tartans returned the favor and won 25-9 in the second set.
  • Senior Katherine Jackson had six kills in the second set while junior Kate Giang had five kills in seven attempts for a .714 hitting percentage.
  • Five service aces in the second set including two by sophomore Brynn Shearn and two by freshman Dani Lee aided in the Tartans dominating set while junior Zoe Gavros had eight digs.
  • Set three went to the Tartans by a 28-26 score after a balanced attack with senior Elizabeth Schlemmer leading with five kills. Senior Bella Woodard and Jackson each had four kills with senior Julianna McFarland putting down three kills.
  • Gavros had 11 digs in the set three while junior Neha Tummala and freshman Dani Lee each had seven assists.
  • Hope forced a fifth set by winning, 25-19, in the fourth.
  • The final set was back-and-forth early with Hope leading 8-7. At the turn, Hope had four straight attack errors with the Tartans picking up two blocks that made the score 11-8 for the Tartans.
  • After a kill by Hope, Giang had a kill and McFarland had a block to make it 13-9.
  • One more kill by Hope was their last point of the match as Jackson was awarded a kill on a block error by Hope and Woodard and senior Kai Herchenroether closed the match with a block sending the team and the crowd into celebration.

Tartan Stats

  • Gavros finished with 40 digs, three shy of her career high set against Johns Hopkins University earlier this year.
  • Jackson had a career-high 18 kills and recorded her 12th double-double of the season with 12 digs.
  • Giang finished with 14 kills with Schlemmer and Woodard each putting down 11 kills.
  • Tummala finished with 26 assists while Lee had 24 assists.
  • Shearn and Lee each had three service aces.
  • Giang also posted a double-double with 19 digs.
  • McFarland finished with two block solos and three block assists while Woodard, Herchenroether, and Giang each had three block assists.