ATLANTA – The University of Chicago, the nation's 20^th-ranked team in women's volleyball, got off to a strong start on Friday and posted a 3-0 victory over the University of Rochester in the quarterfinals of the University Athletic Association champioships at Emory University.
 
The Maroons won game one, 25-13, and took game two, 25-17. Rochester fought back in game three, staying close all the way, before Chicago scored the last couple of points for a 25-22 victory.

With the result, Chicago moves into the semifinals against Washington University of St. Louis and Rochester goes against NYU in the consolation bracket. The Rochester-NYU match is tentatively scheduled to start at 6 pm on Friday.
 
The other semifinal match pairs top-seeded Carnegie Mellon against host Emory and second-seeded Washington vs. Chicago. CMU held off a stiff challenge from eighth-seeded Brandeis in the quarterfinals. The Tartans won, 3-2. Emory defeated Case in the other first round match on Friday.
 
Rochester could not find its offensive flow in the first two matches. The Yellowjackets hit .062 in the first set and .023 in the second set.
 
Alara Kocak led the way with nine kills. Allie DeRubertis had seven kills and Clara Martinez added six. DeRubertis and Martinez had three block assists apiece.
 
Beth Ghyzel had 13 assists, three kills, and seven digs. Renae Lapins had 12 assists and five digs while Lydia Barnard had 11 digs. Courtney Vidovich had nine digs and two assists.
 
UR heads into the NYU match at 18-12. At 10 a.m. on Saturday, Emory will host the seventh place, fifth place, and third place matches. The championship match will begin at 1 p.m. The UAA champion earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs.