NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – No. 23 Juniata swept Trinity (Tex.) 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-8) in its first match of the NCAA Division III Tournament Friday afternoon at the Freeman Center. Junioir Sarah McCarthy (Villa Park, Ill./Willowbrook) earned her 13th double-double of the year with 31 assists and 11 digs. Sophomore Amelia Kepler (Kane, Pa./Kane Area) finished with a match-high 13 kills.
Head Coach Heather Pavlik stated after the match that the team "executed the game plan we went in with. They were pretty disciplined and stayed in it." Adding, "I thought we served tough. I think that was a huge factor in this match."
Juniata out-killed, out-aced, out-dug and out-blocked the Tigers.
"Yeah, we were all really fired up, ready to go," said Kepler. "I think first round we wanted to make a statement and we did that, so that was great for us."
The Eagles (25-11) led by as many as 18 points in the final game, hitting .423 as a team, to advance to the next round. This is Juniata's 32nd consecutive first round win. They are now 98-37 all-time in the NCAA tournament.
Juniata scored six straight points to start the match. Trinity then made a run and tied the score up at 7-all. Freshman Karlie Christian (Laguna Nigel, Calif./Aliso Niguel) blocked an attack by Kelsey Daniel to put the Eagles up 8-7 and Juniata never looked back. After a kill from junior Amy Miller (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) put the Eagles up 18-12, they outscored the Tigers 7-3 to take the first game 25-15.
Trinity scored first in game two, but Juniata scored six straight points again to go ahead 6-1. They never led by fewer than three points for the remainder of the game, winning 25-16.
The Eagles then started game three strong. Ahead 9-1, Trinity sided-out to end the run, but the Eagles then ran 19 straight points before Trinity could earn their third of the game. Juniata would go on to win the game 25-8 to close the match.
They will play No. 4 Emory tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 10 at 2:30 p.m. for a chance at the regional championship. Juniata has yet to face Salem this year, but lost 3-0 at home to Emory back on Oct. 19 at the Wid Guisler Invitational. Eagle fans can watch the match live online and follow the stats at juniatasports.net.
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*Photos courtesy of CNU Sports Information/Ryan M. Kelly.
