ATLANTA – The No. 20 University of Chicago volleyball team opened the 2017 University Athletic Association Championships with a three-set sweep over Rochester to advance into the semifinals, but couldn't overcome No. 19 Washington-St. Louis Friday.

The Maroons (23-7) still have a chance to finish as high as third as UChicago falls to the consolation bracket. Saturday, the Maroons will take on top-seeded Carnegie Mellon (28-4), a five-set loser to host Emory, at 10 a.m. ET in Atlanta in a battle for third.

Washington-St. Louis, the No. 2 seed, and fourth-seeded Emory will fight for the UAA title beginning at 1 p.m. ET.

#20 (3) UChicago 3, (6) Rochester 0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-22)

The Maroons had little trouble with the Yellowjackets (18-12) of Rochester (N.Y.) in their opening match, as three-seeded Chicago hit a stellar .327, including attack percentages of .444 and .421 in Sets 1 and 2.

In total, the Maroons committed just 12 hitting errors and finished with 48 kills. Sophomore Anabella Pinton led the way with 15, classmate Madison Pearson added 14 and junior Sarah Muisenga chipped in a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs.

Anne Marie Stifter carried the defense with 20 digs, while Frances McDonald (nine), Emma Griffith (eight) and Katherine Wilson (eight) also contributed defensively.

The first-year Griffith directed that aforementioned offense with 37 assists to round out the Maroons' leaders. Pinton was near-perfect in her offensive performance, hitting .387 with just three errors to her 15 kills.

#19 (2) Washington-St. Louis 3, #20 (3) UChicago 0 (25-23, 25-12, 25-21)

The Bears (23-9) front line proved to be too much for UChicago in Friday's nightcap, as second-seeded Washington-St. Louis used a strong second set to stymie any momentum from the Maroons.

The Maroons had the lead in the opening set, 22-16, but saw the Bears respond by outscoring UChicago by a 9-1 margin down the stretch to close out a tight first set. WashU's Ifeoma Ufondu took over during that span, totaling five kills, including the game-winner.

Washington-St. Louis dominated Set 2 by hitting .556 and then led from the start in the finale, building a 13-4 lead.

Sarah Muisenga and Anabella Pinton each had eight kills, Emma Griffith dished out 29 assists and Anna Marie Stifter (13) and Griffith (12) recorded double-digit dig numbers for UChicago in the setback.

• NEXT MATCH
  Saturday, Nov. 4: UChicago vs. Carnegie Mellon, 10 AM ET, Atlanta, Ga. (UAA Third-Place Match)