LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Both Colorado College and Trinity University saw their seasons come to a close as they both dropped their Regional Final matchup to No. 1 seeds in the Regional.
#1 Emory 3, #2 Colorado College 1
(Story courtesy of Colorado College)
ATLANTA, Ga. - Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Hahn struck for a career-high 18 kills, but it wasn't enough to send Colorado College to the national quarterfinals of 2013 NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship. Box Score | Regional Website | Interactive Bracket
In a battle of top-12 teams, seventh-ranked Emory University used its height and home-court advantage to record a 25-17, 19-25, 25-13, 25-14 victory over the Tigers in the regional final on Sunday afternoon.
"Sixty-three of the 64 teams that get into the NCAA Tournament end up losing their last match of the season," head coach Rick Swan said. "It doesn't feel very good and our kids are hurting right now. But I don't want today's loss to take away from the great season we had."
CC completed its 2013 campaign with a 35-5 record, the second most victories in a single season that was first set in 1983 and equaled for a second time in 2009. The Tigers also began the year with a school-record 17-match winning streak.
After dropping the first set, Colorado College showed its resolve and battled back to tie the match.
Hahn recorded seven kills on eight attacks, including three in a row to give the Tigers a 13-8 lead. CC expanded its advantage to six points on several occasions and never let the Eagles get closer than four before closing out the set on a kill by freshman middle hitter Kelli Sherwood.
Unfortunately, the momentum did not last into the third set. Emory raced to a 9-3 lead, and after a Colorado College timeout, stretched the advantage to 17-7.
The Eagles used a 6-1 run early in the fourth set to build a 15-6 lead and the Tigers were unable to put enough points together before time ran out.
Emory, which hit .355 as a team, was led by freshman middle hitter Jessica Holler, who connected for 16 kills on 23 swings without an error. Freshman opposite hitter Sarah Maher hit .471 with 10 kills on 17 attacks.
"Emory played an unbelievable match," Swan said. "They're tall and they use their height to their advantage. They are well coached and they don't make a lot of mistakes.
"We may have been a little tentative to start the match and it showed. We wanted to be aggressive, but in the third and fourth sets, Emory took the attack to us."
Sophomore libero Sophie Merrifield led the Tigers with 16 digs and ran her school-record total to 726.
Freshman setter Rebecca Watson recorded 36 assists and added 10 digs, while freshman outside hitter Abbe Holtze came off the bench to record seven kills.
The Eagles, who improved to 33-4, will play Eastern University in the Elite 8.
#1 California Lutheran 3, #2 Trinity University 1
(Story courtesy of Trinity University)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The No. 2 seed Trinity volleyball team lost a 3-1 match to the top-seeded Cal Lutheran Regals in the final of the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship San Antonio, Texas Regional on Sunday evening. Box Score | Regional Website | Interactive Bracket
Cal Lutheran (33-1) won the match 16-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-23. The Regals advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals next Thursday at Holland, Michigan. Trinity, led by Head Coach Julie Jenkins, competed in its 20th NCAA event. The Tigers finished the season with a 36-7 record. It also marked Trinity's 11th appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16.
Maggie Emodi posted a double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs, and was selected for the All-Tournament Team. Emodi also blocked four shots and hit .300 in the match for the Tigers.
Erika Edrington had a double-double, with 23 assists and 10 digs. Maryn Swierc accounted for 21 assists and nine digs. Shannon Courtney led the team in digs, with 19.
Erin Cusenbary, who also received All-Tournament accolades, hit. .400, with nine kills, three errors, and 15 total attacks. Cusenbary also blocked four shots, and served up two aces.
Kelsey Daniel pumped out a match-leading eight blocks, while hitting .333 (eight kills, two errors, 18 total attacks). Bridget Bohman was a .312 hitter, with five kills, no errors, and 16 total attacks. Layne Hubbard had eight kills and seven digs in the four-set match.
Trinity defeated UC-Santa Cruz 3-1 in Friday's first-round matchup. The next night, the Tigers won a 3-2 war with Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference rival Southwestern, which included fighting off three match points.
