CLEVELAND – The University of Chicago volleyball team beat Carnegie Mellon University 3-1 in the third-place match at the 2021 University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship on Saturday.

The No. 20-ranked Maroons improved to 17-9 on the season while the Tartans fell to 14-14.

Monday's selection show for the NCAA Division III Championship field will be broadcast on NCAA.com, starting at 11:30 AM (CT). UChicago is a Pool C at-large candidate seeking the 10th postseason bid in program history.

The two-day UAA Championship saw the Maroons enter as the No. 3 seed, with the Tartans as the No. 5 seed. In their previous meeting on October 3, UChicago swept CMU 3-0 at the UAA Round Robin #2.

On Saturday, the Maroons were on point offensively in the opening set, hitting .333 as a team. An unusual mirroring occurred in the first two sets, as UChicago held leads of 10-5 and 20-13 before eventually winning 25-20 both times.

CMU looked to put away the third set up 24-22. But two-straight UChicago kills thwarted the ambition. However, the Tartans finally converted their fourth set point to extend the match, 27-25.

A fifth set looked certain when Carnegie Mellon made the score 24-18 in the fourth. However, the Maroons dug deep and pulled off a monstrous rally, scoring six in-a-row to tie it. CMU had a seventh set-point opportunity at 25-24, but UChicago would not be denied. Junior Ellie Alden contributed four kills during the rally, including the match-clincher at 27-25.

In the final stats, UChicago held distinct advantages in hitting percentage (.231 to .128) and blocks (9 to 5). However, the Maroons also committed 16 service errors.

Sophomore Christine Jurgens continued her offensive ascent with a match-high 20 kills to go with seven digs. She has averaged 4.10 kills per set in the past five matches. Alden was a force in the middle, scoring 17 kills on a .424 hitting percentage, while also recording four blocks. Sophomore Ella Mao was efficient with 12 kills and a .312 hitting percentage. Sophomore setter Maya Patel dished out 47 assists and collected 14 digs.

Defensively, senior Audra Berg and first-year Cami Cox combined for nine blocks. First-year libero Julia Craig led the back line with 23 digs. Other double-digit dig producers included senior Temilade Adekoya (16), first-year Maggie McInerney (13) and first-year Bettye Igbenebor (13).