ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The University of Chicago volleyball team opened the UAA Conference Championship on Friday with a hard-fought split in their two matches. The Maroons secured a 3-1 (21-25, 25-18, 25-16, 25-20) victory over Carnegie Mellon in their first match but fell to Emory in four sets (17-25, 25-20, 23-25, 19-25) in their second contest of the day.
Match 1: UChicago Defeats Carnegie Mellon 3-1
In the first match, UChicago rebounded after dropping the opening set to dominate the Tartans over the next three. The Maroons showcased a balanced offensive attack, led by
Diya Mishra's match-high 14 kills.
Amelia Gibbs and
Maggie McInerney added 13 and 11 kills, respectively, while
Hillary Cheung and
Grace Xu combined for 48 assists to fuel the offense.
Defensively,
Thalita Marangon anchored the back row with 17 digs, while
Nicole Martinez and
Kennedy Cheungadded 13 and 12 digs, respectively. At the net,
Mishra recorded seven blocks to stymie Carnegie Mellon's attack.
Set Breakdown:
- Set 1: Carnegie Mellon 25, UChicago 21
- Set 2: UChicago 25, Carnegie Mellon 18
- Set 3: UChicago 25, Carnegie Mellon 16
- Set 4: UChicago 25, Carnegie Mellon 20
Match 2: UChicago Falls to Emory 3-1
The Maroons faced a tough test in their second match against Emory, ultimately falling in four competitive sets. UChicago took the second set to even the match at 1-1 but couldn't maintain the momentum against a strong Eagles squad.
Offensively,
Diya Mishra again led the way with 13 kills, while
Thalita Marangon contributed 10 kills and 19 digs, showing her versatility.
Maggie McInerney added 9 kills to the attack. The distribution was managed by
Hillary Cheung(16 assists),
Isabel Cai (13 assists), and
Grace Xu (12 assists).
Defensively, the Maroons had standout performances from
Marangon with 19 digs and
Klaudia Barbarossa, who added 11 digs.
Mishra and
Peyton Minyard led the blocking efforts with 4 and 3 blocks, respectively.
Set Breakdown:
- Set 1: Emory 25, UChicago 17
- Set 2: UChicago 25, Emory 20
- Set 3: Emory 25, UChicago 23
- Set 4: Emory 25, UChicago 19
Key Stats for the Day:
UChicago will return to the court Saturday to continue their pursuit of the UAA Championship, aiming to build on the day's successes and learn from their challenges.
