Tartans Return to UAA Play with Wins Against NYU and #15 Chicago

(CLEVELAND, Ohio) - The Carnegie Mellon University volleyball team returned to University Athletic Association (UAA) action on Saturday, October 17 after a week off of competition. The Tartans used the rest to their advantage and defeated New York University (NYU), 3-0, and 15th-ranked University of Chicago, 3-1, at the UAA Volleyball Round Robin #2.

The Tartans (21-4, 3-2) began the day with the 3-0 victory against NYU with set scores of 25-18, 25-19, and 25-21. The Tartans hit .216 for the match with freshman Sarah Jurgens (Eagan, Minn./Eagan) leading the team with 10 kills. Junior Emily Newton (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Chadwick School) put up 38 assists and recorded two of the team's six service aces. Defensively, junior Molly Higgins (Vero Beach, Fla./Vero Beach) led with 15 digs while freshman Lauren Mueller (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown SIEM Academy) led the team at the net with three block assists.

Against the 15th-ranked Maroons, the Tartans hit .262 and had four players with double-digit kills. The Tartans won the first two sets by 25-23 and 25-22 scores before Chicago forced the fourth set with a 25-21 win. The Cardinal and Gray then turned out a 25-10 performance to win the match.

Mueller was powerful with 17 kills while Jurgens hit .429 with 13 kills. Junior Jackie Gibbons (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) was on point in the middle, as she hit .611 with 12 kills. Freshman Sydney Bauer (Allen, Texas/Allen) was the fourth player with double-digit kills with 10 for the match. Newton was the beneficiary of all those kills with a career-high 54 assists.

Higgins picked up a career-high 37 digs while senior Taylor Bell (Shelby Township, Mich./Detroit Country Day School) collected 14 digs. At the net, Gibbons, Newton and sophomore Eliza Donohue (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) each had two block assists.

"It was a great start to the second round robin," said head coach Kim Kelly. "We came out strong and played with a will to win. Our defense picked up a lot of good balls and our offense was able to keep the other teams out of system."

The Tartans continue action at the second round robin on Sunday, October 18 against the University of Rochester at 12:00 p.m. The team will also face the number one team in the nation in Washington University in St. Louis at 2:00 p.m.