(WALTHAM, Mass.) - The 19th-ranked Carnegie Mellon University volleyball team defeated New York University, 3-0, before falling to fifth-ranked Emory University in a tight battle, 3-1, on the first day of the University Athletic Association (UAA) Round Robin #2 hosted by Brandeis University on Saturday, October 15. The Tartans are now 17-5 overall and 2-3 in UAA play.
The Tartans topped NYU by scores of 25-11, 25-16, and 25-21. Sophomore Lauren Mueller (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown STEM Academy) led the attack with 15 kills. Senior Jackie Gibbons (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) had eight kills and four service aces. Senior Emily Newton (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Chadwick School) tallied 29 assists while freshman Kayla Yew (San Francisco, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral) led the defense with 13 digs.
Against the Eagles, the Tartans won the second set 25-22 after falling in the first, 25-18. The Eagles squeaked out a 27-25 win in the third set before recording four straight kills to end the fourth set with a 25-20 score.
Mueller tallied 12 kills as Gibbons recorded 1,000 kills for her career with nine in the match. Junior Eliza Donohue (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) had eight kills with two block solos and two block assists while Newton collected 39 assists and 11 digs. Senior Molly Higgins (Vero Beach, Fla./Vero Beach) picked up 26 digs for the match and with her 14th of the game surpassed 2,000 digs for her career.
The Tartans return to UAA action on Sunday versus Case Western Reserve University at 11:30 a.m. before closing the weekend against the University of Rochester at 1:30 p.m.
