Tartans Finish UAA Round Robin Play with Split Against No. 7 Washington and NYU

(CHICAGO, Ill.) - The Carnegie Mellon University women's volleyball team battled with No. 7 Washington University, falling 3-1 and defeated New York University 3-0 to finish University Athletic Association (UAA) play with a 5-2 record and an overall mark of 21-5.

The Tartans started Sunday with a win over New York with scores of 25-18, 25-17, and 25-21. Senior Ali Celentano (Mission Viejo, Calif./JSerra Catholic) led with 14 kills, hitting .565, and also had eight digs defensively. Freshman Heather Holton (Haslett, Mich./Haslett) tallied 10 kills while sophomore Emily Newton (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Chadwick School) had 29 assists and 15 digs. Sophomore libero Molly Higgins (Vero Beach, Fla./Vero Beach) had 10 digs and nine assists.

The final match for the Tartans in UAA round robin play came against the seventh-ranked Bears of Washington University. The Bears won the first set 25-21 before the Tartans tied it with a 25-17 second-set win. The third set went in favor of the Bears, 25-19, before Washington U. won the fourth by a 27-25 score.

Celentano led with 11 kills as sophomore Jackie Gibbons (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) put down nine kills and hit .304 from her middle blocker position. Newton tallied 32 assists and the Tartans recorded eight service aces. Higgins led with 15 digs and Celentano had 13 and Newton 11. Gibbons and freshman Eliza Donohue (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) each had three block assists.

The Tartans will travel to Juniata College on Friday, October 24 for a match against Stevenson University before facing the No. 11 Eagles of Juniata and No. 19 Eastern College on Saturday.

The UAA Championship will be hosted by the Tartans and takes place on Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8. Seeding for the tournament will be out Monday, October 20.