By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
CORTLAND, N.Y. – After a pair of commanding wins on Friday, the No. 20 Juniata College women's volleyball team battled hard to four-set victories over Nazareth College and No. 23 Clarkson University, 3-1 (27-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-11) and 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-16, 25-15) respectively.
"We played very well this weekend," said head coach Heather Pavlik. "The first day we played two 3-0 matches and then today was a great second day for an opening tournament. The scores were higher and the matches were closer. The girls had to play cleaner, a little tighter, and they had to overcome some struggles."
In the opening match, Juniata kept its winning streak against Nazareth intact, taking down the Golden Flyers and moving to 5-0 in the all-time series matchup. Junior outside hitter Amelia Kepler (Kane, Pa./Kane Area) led the offensive charge for the Eagles with 15 kills while senior setter Sarah McCarthy (Villa Park, Ill./Willowbrook) came away with 33 assists in the match.
"There were a few times this weekend where we had a little trouble with our ball control," said Pavlik. "We had to work on our communication, but that is going to happen and the team got over it. We bounced back after dropping a set and were able to really get up quickly. That shows a lot of maturity for the team. When you get into these hard matches you may drop a set, but you can come back and the team did that today which is a really good sign."
In the nightcap, Juniata battled to a hard fought win over No. 23 Clarkson. Kepler dominated the match tallying 25 kills and senior Amy Miller (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) slammed down another 14. McCarthy kept up her momentum from the first match and totaled 45 assists.
"Amelia was very good all day long," said Pavlik. "She really took over the Clarkson match and they had a hard time figuring out what to do about her."
Kepler was named to the Cortland Red Dragon Volleyball Classic All-Tournament team. Juniata finished the weekend tournament champion with a perfect 4-0 record and the fewest sets played.
"We've been waiting for Amelia to do something like this," added Pavlik. "The move to outside hitter has really helped show her what she can do and show that she can come in and take over a match. She demonstrated a lot of maturity this weekend by really stepping up."
Junior libero Brittani Young (Columbia, Pa./Hempfield Area) continued leading the Eagles defense. She finished of the match against Clarkson with a team-high 22 digs.
The Eagles return home to Huntingdon next weekend to host the Asics National Invitational at Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center. Juniata will face off against St. Vincent College and Elizabethtown College at 4 and 8 p.m. respectively on Friday Sept. 6th. The next day, the Eagles take on Thiel College at noon and Gettysburg College at 4 p.m.
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