ATLANTA, GA – The University of Rochester volleyball team will play for 7th place at the UAA Championships on Saturday morning after dropping a pair of matches to #4 Emory University and Carnegie Mellon University at the conference tournament hosted at Emory.
 
In the opener, the 4th-ranked Eagles (23-1) posted a sweep, winning 25-18, 25-12 and 25-17, while the nightcap saw the Yellowjackets (18-11) swipe a set, but ultimately fall in four games to CMU by a 16-25, 18-25, 25-20 and 20-25.
 
Emory, the top seed in the conference playoffs, used its home court advantage in first match, jumping quickly out to a 4-1 lead during the opening set. Rochester's Ruby Moore following with a kill and two aces to tie the score.
 
The Yellowjackets hung around in the set, taking an 11-9 lead after an Emory attack error, but the Eagles seven of the next nine points to jump in front 17-14.

UR got back within two, trailing 19-17, but the Eagles closed out the opening set strong with a four-point barrage, winning 25-18 after a block at the net by Eliane Silberman and Alana Dawson.
 
In set two, Emory put its foot on the gas early, jumping to an 8-1 lead after nine points. Rochester's Bri Jones started a three-point spurt with a kill to cut the lead to 8-4, but Emory regained the momentum scoring five straight to go in front by nine.
 
Rochester got within seven, down 18-11, but another strong finish to the set by the Eagles allowed the home team to win 25-12 in the second.
 
The first 18 points in the third set were split even between both teams, as another Jones kill made the score 9-9. Emory edged in front by taking the next four points and never relinquished the lead the rest of the way, closing out the sweep with a 25-17 win.
 
Moore led UR with six kills, while Jones finished with five. Sonia McGaffigan, Areti Tsirikaki and Myla Nover-Estes each ended with four. Katie Westerheim picked up 10 digs to lead the defense, and McKenzie McDonald tallied 24 assists and seven digs in the loss.
 
In the Carnegie Mellon match, set one featured two long runs by each squad in the CMU set victory. The Tartans (22-8) rattled off 12 points in a row to go from down one to up 11 at 18-7.
 
The Yellowjackets fought back though, going on a 7-1 run later on to pull back within six, down 22-16. McDonald and McGaffigan provided a block to kick start the run, while Ashley Cook chipped in an ace for UR.
 
CMU closed out the set with three straight points, winning the opener 25-16.
 
During the second set, the Tartans surged in front early, leading 7-1 after eight points. Rochester chipped away, trimming the lead to CMU lead to two at 12-10. Cook, Tsirikaki and Paige Stephenson each smacked kills, getting the Yellowjackets back within striking distance.
 
Still with a two-point cushion up 15-13, Carnegie Mellon scored four straight points to go up by six. Rochester answered right away with a four-point run of its own, getting kills from Moore and Cook and a Westerheim ace to get back to a 2-point deficit.
 
The Tartans fended off the Yellowjackets and wrapped up the second set by winning six of the last seven points, taking a 25-18 win.
 
Rochester was able to stave off the sweep with a third set win. Back-to-back aces from Moore keyed the Yellowjackets in taking a 6-3 lead in the early going. Later in the set, UR had a big six-point burst to jump in front 15-9. Nover-Estes and Tsirikaki each had a kill during the run, while Moore and Nover-Estes paired on a block at the net.
 
Carnegie Mellon was not able to get any closer than two points the rest of the set, with Tsirikaki finishing off the set win with an ace, one of three in the match for the junior.
 
The fourth and final set was close throughout, until CMU won three straight points to go ahead 22-18. Rochester was able to get kills from Jones and Cook to pull within two, down 22-20, but CMU was able to take the final three points to earn the match victory.
 
Nover-Estes was UR's leading attacker in the CMU match, finishing with 11 kills. Both Cook and Tsirikaki ended with eight. Moore had six kills and four aces.
 
Four players ended with double-digit digs, with Lydia Weeks leading the way with 15. Cook added 13, while Westerheim and Tsirikaki ended with 11 and 10, respectively.
 
Rochester wraps up the conference tournament, battling seventh seeded Brandeis in the 7th place match on Saturday at 10 am.