Stats

The No. 2-ranked Emory University volleyball saw its quest to defend its 2008 national come to a premature end Friday evening as the Eagles came out on the short end of 3-0 decision to Trinity University in the semifinals of the Southwestern Regional.  The Tigers of Trinity raised their record to 29-11 and will advance to the regional championship following a 25-20, 25-23, 25-19 decision over Emory which closes out the year with an overall slate of 34-6.

Emory's offense never seemed to get untracked against No. 18 Trinity, finishing the match with just a 12.6 hitting percentage (37-24-103) compared to the Tigers' 25.0 percent (36-12-96).  Trinity dished out 11 service aces to Emory's three and finished with a slight 7-5 edge in total blocks. 

Junior Amelia McCall led the team with nine kills while sophomore Natalie Schonefeld total seven terminations and registered a team-high 42.9 attack percentage (7-1-14).  Schonefeld also tallied 28 assists to finish the campaign with 1,405, good for fifth place on the school's seasonal list.  Sophomore Jessica McAlvany also compiled seven kills on the evening.  Senior Vista Murphy led all players with 16 digs, her 21^st match of the year with double digits in that category.

In the first set, Emory fell behind by a 16-12 margin before rallying to take a 17-16 lead following a kill by freshman Alex Duhl.  The Emory still led by a 20-19 count following a put-away by McAlvany, but the Tigers went on a 6-0 run to claim the game and take a 1-0 advantage in the match.

In the second set, the Eagles trailed by as much as six points in the early stages (8-14) before slowly creeping back into contention.  An ace by junior Kelsey Krzyston capped an 11-5 Emory spurt and tied things up at 19-19.  Trinity then scored four of the game's next five points to assume a 23-20 lead.  The Eagles battled back to within one following kills by McCall and Schonefeld but a termination by TU's Ginger Haley iced the game for the Tigers and gave them a 2-0 bulge in the match. 

Emory got off to a much better start in the third set and appeared to have found its rhythm after a kill by senior Alysse Meyer gave it a 12-7 lead. However, the tenacious Tigers answered with an 11-3 run to post an 18-15 lead with the last two points in that stretch coming on service aces by Emily Hillard.  A successful attack by Meyer kept Emory within two points (17-19) but Trinity closed out the match with a 6-2 burst to earn the win.

Emory's final victory total is the second-highest in school history, just one win shy of last year's effort of 35.