Tartans Open First Day of UAA Championship Tournament with a Split

(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) - The Carnegie Mellon University volleyball team, ranked 20th nationally, opened the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship with a 3-2 setback to the 21st-ranked Maroons of the University of Chicago before blanking Brandeis University 3-0 in the nightcap on Friday, November 6.  The championship tournament is being held in Rochester, New York, on the campus of the University of Rochester.  The Tartans are 26-7 overall and now have the most victories in a season in head coach Kim Kelly's 11-year tenure.

In the Tartans 3-2 (20-25, 25-13, 25-19, 25-21, 12-15) setback to Chicago, freshman Lauren Mueller (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown SIEM Academy) and junior middle blocker Jackie Gibbons (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) both notched double-digit kills.  Mueller ended with 16 while Gibbons had 10.  Freshman Sarah Jurgens (Eagan, Minn./Eagan) picked up nine kills. Junior setter Emily Newton (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Chadwick School) assisted on 44 of the team's 54 kills.

At the net, sophomore Eliza Donohue (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) had four block assists. Newton and Mueller each recorded a block solo and two block assists while Gibbins ended the match with a solo block and a block assist.  Junior Molly Higgins (Vero Beach, Fla.) totaled 24 digs and Mueller had 10.

In the 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-20) win over Brandeis, Gibbons and Mueller led again with six and five kills, respectively.  Newton and sophomore Amanda Thiele (Lakeland, Fla./George Jenkins) accounted for 22 assists on the Tartans 26 kills.  Newton tallied 13 while Thiele had nine.  Newton recorded three service aces while freshman Sydney Bauer (Allen, Texas/Allen) had two.

Defensively, Higgins recorded 21 digs and Donohue led at the net with seven total blocks, including three solo.

The Tartans will face the host Yellowjackets in the fifth-place match at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.