Tartans Defeat #8 Washington U. to Finish Third at UAA Championship

(WALTHAM, Mass.) - The Carnegie Mellon University volleyball team defeated No. 8 Washington University in the third-place match of the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship 3-2 on Saturday morning at Brandeis University. The win marks the fourth time the Tartans (25-9) have finished third in the UAA.

Washington won the first set 25-22 before the Tartans took the second by the same score. The Bears then won the third set 25-16 but Carnegie Mellon didn't fold and fought back to win the fourth set 26-24, winning the final three points to take the set. The momentum carried on as the Tartans were ahead 7-2 in the fifth and deciding set, then 10-6 and finally won 15-9.

Leading the Tartans to just their second-ever victory against the Bears was junior Ali Celentano (Mission Viejo, Calif./JSerra Catholic) with 18 kills. Senior Senna Parsa (Bellevue, Wash./Newport) put down 14 kills while senior Mary Stadelman (Washington, Pa../Trinity) tied a career-high with 12 kills. Sophomore Emily Lawlis (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands College Park) and freshman Emily Newton (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Chadwick School) tag-teamed to put out 23 and 21 assists, respectively.

Defensively, freshman Casey Salandra (Carol Steam, Ill./St. Francis) led the way with seven block assists as the Tartans tallied 20 total blocks for the match. Senior Ali Nichols (Portland, Ore./Jesuit) led with 29 digs as senior Rachel Miller (Ann Arbor, Mich./Ann Arbor Huron) tallied 16 digs.

The Tartans finish the regular season with the most wins, 25, under nine-year head coach Kim Kelly and will wait to see if they receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament on Monday, November 11. The selection show will be at 11:00 a.m.