BOSWELL, Pa. – California University of Pennsylvania, ranked 19th in the AVCA Division II poll, had a little too much offense for Juniata College and downed the Eagles 3-0, in women's volleyball action Thursday night at North Star High School in Boswell, Pa.
Set scores were 25-20, 25-17, and 25-13.
"We got slammed around a little bit tonight, but it was a good thing to experience; it exposed a few things we need to work on," said Juniata head coach Larry Bock. "Cal is a very good team – they're going to be an NCAA Division II tournament team – and we were very fortunate to be able to play them."
Senior outside hitter Amber Thomas (Ephrata, Pa./Conestoga Valley) led the Eagles with 15 kills to go with her five digs, while Michelle Morchesky (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) had four kills and two digs. Drew Barnhart (Titusville, Pa./Titusville), Erin Albert (Philipsburg, Pa./Philipsburg-Osceola) and Amanda Schmidt (Boswell, Pa./North Star) all had three kills on the night, while Schmidt, playing in front of a hometown crowd in her former high school gym, also had six blocks.
Megan Sollenberger (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) recorded 24 digs to go with one service ace, while Jessica Ritchey (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) had 12 digs.
Juniata setters Beth Kozak (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon Area) and Steph Strauss (Penn Hills, Pa./Penn Hills) had 13 and 12 assists respectively.
"There was a little bit of a height difference that I won't belabor, but it's very clear that there are some little things that, if we can turn them around, would be very helpful," said Bock. "This is a team that has its destiny in its own hands."
The game against California (Pa.) opened a stretch of four games in three days for Juniata. The Eagles return home to host Washington & Lee, Carnegie Mellon, and New York University in the Wid Guisler Invitational on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 24-25, at the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center in Huntingdon. Juniata's first opponent on Friday will be Washington & Lee, with the match starting at 7:00 p.m.
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