The Emory University volleyball team celebrated nine graduating seniors on senior night, Oct. 17, and faced Trinity University (Texas) in a difficult matchup at the George W. Woodruff Physical Education Center. Though it was a hard-fought battle, the team ultimately fell in all three sets, losing the match.
The first set began with the Eagles taking a slight 6-5 lead before Trinity scored nine straight points, dominating with a 14-6 lead halfway through the set. The two teams went back and forth before the opposing team clinched the set 25-18.
Trinity started the second set off strong, getting out to a 10-6 lead before going on another run to push the lead to 14-6. The Eagles rallied late and closed the deficit to five, but Trinity earned two more points and ended the set at 25-18.
The third set was the tightest of the three, with 12 ties and six lead changes. The Eagles had a successful start, leading 6-4 with kills from senior middle hitter Eliane Silberman and fellow senior outside hitter and defensive specialist Kate LaRocco, but Trinity caught up and the two teams went back and forth. The set was tied at 19-19 before Trinity finished with a 6-3 run, winning the set 25-22.
The Eagles now hold a 13-4 overall record as they dive further into University Athletic Association (UAA) play. Though they ultimately lost the match, the team put up a fight, and numerous seniors shone. Silberman posted 11 kills and three block assists, while senior setter Olivia Rabinowitz had a total of 22 assists.
Although the matchup did not go as well as the Eagles had hoped, senior setter Ioanna Copulos said the team knows that they are not going to win every game. Rather, Copulos said they are focused on persevering past the hard loss by breaking down film and looking at areas for improvement for the upcoming UAA play.
“Volleyball is a game of errors and a game of wins and losses, so you’re not going to win every game,” Copulos said. “We go back to the drawing board, figure out what happened, break down film, understand what we did wrong.”
Senior middle hitter Sophie Zerrouki said that the team took the loss as a learning experience.
“One thing we do really well as a team is finding a way to take what we can from losses and learn from it,” Zerrouki said. “We’ve done a great job of figuring out what we can take from this loss and learn how to do better in the future.”
While the Eagles dropped the matchup, the night was still special as the team celebrated their seniors. LaRocco said the highlight of her time on the volleyball team was seeing how her class has changed as players and people.
“Seeing them all grow and become the people that they are and the players that they are, and then also myself,” LaRocco said. “I’ve changed as a volleyball player, and I’m proud of that.”
Copulos said the team is incredibly close-knit and that there is a close bond between all nine of the seniors on the team. She said the bond between the seniors is something she will miss after graduation.
“There’s nine of us that have been here since day one, and we have a really tight bond and great relationship,” Copulos said. “I’m really going to miss not being with them next year and not seeing them.”
While these seniors will be off to other things after graduation, Zerrouki said leaving a legacy of prioritizing team culture for the volleyball program is important to the senior class.
“We want our legacy to be the Emory volleyball culture, which is caring so much about the people around you and really working hard for the people next to you,” Zerrouki said. “It’s a lot of selflessness, and also the drive to win and competitiveness.”
Looking ahead, these accomplished seniors, along with the rest of the team, will head to Chicago on Oct. 26 to face the University of Rochester (N.Y.) and Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) in conference matchups before they return home for the Emory Invitational from Nov. 7-8.
LaRocco said she is looking forward to seeing how far the team can go in UAA play and going to regionals and nationals.
“I’m definitely excited to see how we move forward, especially after this loss,” LaRocco said. “I’m excited for our conference championship and going to regionals and nationals, because our ultimate goal is to win the national championship.”
