ATLANTA, GA – The first University Athletic Association round robin got off to a rocky start for the University of Rochester volleyball team, dropping 3-0 decisions to Carnegie Mellon and #3 ranked Emory University on Saturday afternoon.
 
Rochester (9-11, 0-2 UAA) struggled with its offense in the opener, failing to hit in positive numbers in two of the three games.  The Tartans (12-3, 1-0 UAA) won the match 25-20, 25-13 and 25-9.
 
Jennie Ford and Nina Baek led UR with six kills each while Allie Fredrickson added four.  Libero Ashley Hunter handled 13 digs while Xiaoyi Li recorded 18 assists.  Ford chipped in seven digs and Baek had six.
 
Overall, the Tartans struck the ball extremely well, finishing the match with 32 kills and seven errors, for a percentage of .305.   Eliza Donohue and Ali Celentano led CMU with seven kills each while Molly Higgins led the team with 13 digs.  Carnegie Mellon used their size to control the net with nine team blocks, three of which were solo.
 
In the second game of the day, the #3 ranked Eagles (20-2, 2-0 UAA) felt right at home in the Woodruff P.E. Center, winning in three games 25-16, 25-8 and 25-10.  Emory hit a stellar .375 (36-6-8) while Rochester again struggled offensively hitting on 18 kills in 93 attempts.
 
Freshman Shira Katz led the UR attack with seven kills and six digs.  Ford, Fredrickson and Mackenzie Cronin each added four kills.  Hunter had 10 digs while Li added 14 more assists.
 
The Eagles were led by Sarah Maher and Leah Jacobs who had 13 and 10 kills respectively.  Sydney Mills dished out 31 assist while Emory recorded nine total team blocks, five (1 solo, 4 assisted) each from Maher and Madeline DeShazer.
 
Round robin one continues on Sunday when the Yellowjackets take n Case Western Reserve at 10 am.