#12 Tartans Begin UAA Play with Two Victories

(WALTHAM, Mass.) - The 12th-ranked Carnegie Mellon University volleyball team opened University Athletic Association (UAA) play with two 3-1 victories on the road at Brandeis University on Saturday, September 21. The Tartans first topped the University of Rochester before defeating the host Judges.

The Tartans overcame a 25-21 first set loss to the Yellowjackets to win 25-13, 25-22, and 25-16, hitting above .350 in both the second and third sets. Senior Maia So-Holloway (Oakland, Calif. / Sacred Heart Cathedral) dished out 29 assists while senior Sahara Aqui (Miramar, Fla. / Archbishop McCarthy) and junior Diana Balta (Media, Pa. / Penncrest) each had nine kills. Sophomore Carrie Stewart (Victor, N.Y. / Victor) put down eight kills from her outside hitting position while Aqui had three block assists. Senior Erika Foose (Allentown, Pa. / Parkland) collected two block solos and one block assist to go with six kills. The back row defense was led by senior Kayla Yew (San Francisco, Calif. / Sacred Heart Cathedral) with 17 digs.

With a target on their backs, the Tartans again found themselves down a set in their second match as Brandeis won the first set 25-17. After regrouping, the Tartans won the next three sets by scores of 25-15, 25-11, and 25-19. Again, the best hitting sets for the Tartans came in set two and three with the team hitting .467 in set three with 16 kills and just two errors. Leading the attack with Foose with 15 kills and zero errors for an attack percentage of .750. Sophomore Vivian Beaudoin (Washington, N.J. / Warren Hills) put down a career best 14 kills and hit .480. Foose and Beaudoin teamed up at the net for four block assists apiece while Foose added another block solo to her totals.

So-Holloway had 31 assists against the Judges while freshman Stella Yan (Coppell, Texas / Coppell) had 15 assists. Yew led with 23 digs with junior Julia Kim (Centreville, Va. / Chantilly) picking up 12 digs and sophomore Anna Cao (Princeton, N.J. / Princeton) collecting 11 digs, two block assists, and seven kills.

The Tartans will next face second-ranked Emory University on Sunday, September 22 at Brandeis.