Defending DIII Champion Emory Bests Pirates In Five

ATLANTA, Ga. - The defending Division III National Champion and No. 2-ranked Emory University Eagles bested Armstrong Atlantic State, 3-2, in a rare DII-DIII volleyball matchup on Friday evening at the Woodruff PE Center in Atlanta, Ga. Scores were: 25-13, 22-25, 22-25, 25-20, 15-11.

In the first meeting between the two teams since 1993, Emory hit .217 in the match while the Pirates hit just .140 for the match.

The Eagles rode the arm of Davidson transfer Jessica McAlvany, who hit .404 with a match-high 24 kills and also contributed 18 digs. Alysse Meyer hit .256 with 14 kills, while Natalie Schonfeld tallied 49 assists and Brannan O'Neill collected 32 digs.

Reigning PBC Player of the Week Kathrin Standhardinger led the Pirates with 14 kills, a .324 hitting percentage and four blocks. Torrie Bevolo notched 12 kills and 10 digs, while Amy Birkemeier added 11 kills. Kristin Standhardinger delivered 36 assists and 13 digs, while Casey Howett notched 20 digs.

The Pirates conclude their two-day, three-match non-conference road trip on Saturday as AASU faces North Alabama and Alabama-Huntsville in Florence, Ala., at 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., respectively.