Tartans Close Home Tournament With Two More Wins

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - The Carnegie Mellon University women's volleyball team finished its home DoubleTree Invitational on Sunday, September 24 with two victories. The 17th-ranked Tartans topped University of Mount Union, 3-0, before defeating John Carroll University, 3-1, to move to 15-2 for the season.

In the 3-0 sweep of Mount Union, the Tartans accumulated their highest team hitting percentage for the season at .402. As a unit, they put down 45 kills with only six errors, winning the sets by scores of 25-19, 25-20, and 25-14.

Senior Jackie Gibbons (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) hit .812 against Mount Union with 13 kills and no errors. She also had four of the team's 14 block assists. Senior setter Emily Newton (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Chadwick School) had 39 assists and four block assists while junior Eliza Donohue (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) had three block solos and two block assists. Sophomore Sarah Jurgens (Eagan, Minn./Eagan) put down nine kills while classmate Lauren Mueller (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown STEM Academy) had seven kills. Senior Molly Higgins (Vero Beach, Fla./Vero Beach) led with 14 digs.

The Tartans won set one, 25-23, against the Blue Streaks before falling 28-26 in the second. The third and fourth sets belonged to the Tartans who won 25-16 and 25-18.

Newton tallied 50 assists with eight kills to lead the Tartans while Gibbons put down a career-high 19 kills while hitting .325 for the four sets. Mueller and junior Heather Holton (Haslett, Mich./Haslett) also reached double-digits in kills with 14 and 11, respectively.

Higgins collected 32 digs for the match while freshman Kayla Yew (San Francisco, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral) had a career-best 23 digs. At the net, Donohue had two block solos and three block assists, as Gibbons also had two block solos with two block assists.

The Tartans will next begin University Athletic Association (UAA) play as the first round robin will be played in Pittsburgh on Saturday, October 1 and Sunday, October 2. The Tartans open against Washington University in St. Louis at 12:00 p.m. Saturday.