CHICAGO, Ill. – Playing without several of their regular starters, the Brandeis University volleyball team dropped its University Athletic Association tournament quarterfinal to top-ranked Emory University, 25-11, 25-10, 25-20, today at the University of Chicago. The Judges fall to 4-21 and will meet either Case Western Reserve or Washington University tonight at 7 p.m. EST in the consolation semifinals. Emory, at 27-2, will meet the winner of the WashU/CWRU match in the championship semis at 5 p.m. EST.
The Judges struggled to get their offense going in the first two sets, finishing with a negative hitting percentage, while Emory hit .500 for the first two sets. Brandeis challenged the Eagles in the third, finishing with 11 kills and just four errors in 26 attacks (.269). The third set was tied at 9-all and the Judges were within two points late at 22-20 before EU closed it out with the final three points.
The Brandeis offense was paced by junior Belle Scott (Portland, Ore./Oregon Episcopal School), who had nine kills and just one error in 19 attacks for a .444 hitting percentage. Rookie Amelia Oppenheimer (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands) had five kills, while senior Emma Bartlett (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) and sophomore Avery Donovan (Portland, Maine/Deering) had four each. Bartlett also led the team with three blocks (one solo), giving her 302 for her career. She is just the sixth woman in program history to reach 300 career blocks. Rookie Emily Morrison (Richardson, Texas/Richardson) had 15 assists, while junior Hannah Saadon (New City, N.Y. / Clarkstown North) had six digs to lead the Judges.
Emory had three players with eight or more kills, led by Morgan McKnight's 10 with 0 errors in 17 attempts for a .588 percentage. Tara Martin had nine kills and Maggie Rimmel eight. Cassie Srb led all players with 27 assists, while Sara Carr matched Saadon with six digs.