By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The No. 20 Juniata College women's volleyball team rolled to two more wins in the first day of the ASICS Invitational, beating Saint Vincent College (SVC) 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-14) and Elizabethtown College 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-16).
"They did well overall," said head coach Heather Pavlik. "I switched a lot of people in and out and that in and of itself can be a challenge - when you don't know who's playing next to you and it can be different each game. It was great to get some of the freshman get some time that way we can see what they can do. They've handled the weekend pretty well so far."
Senior Amy Miller (Chesapeak, Va./Western Branch) lead Juniata in its match against SVC coming away with nine kills and an outstanding .471 hitting percentage. Miller continued on a roll right into the second match of the day and finished with five aces against the Blue Jays.
"One thing that's a noticeable difference from last year to this year is our serve," said Pavlik. "We do a much better job of not ending our own rallies by serving the ball into the net or out of bounds. We've had a lot of servers, a lot of different servers, go on streaks of three, four, five in a row over the first two weeks."
The upperclassmen weren't the only stars on the court for Juniata. All five newcomers for the Eagles saw action, gaining some valuable experience for the remainder of the season.
"The younger girls are a lot better at keeping their focus than I thought they would be," said Pavlik. "They don't lose their focus easily and that's really fun to watch. All five freshman keep their heads in the game."
Freshman Nakita Gearhart (Waynesboro Pa./Greencastle-Antri) made her presence known on the court even if she wasn't the one slamming down the points.
"Nakita played really well today," said Pavlik. "A lot of what she does well will not show up in a box score, but it's all the little things she does that she makes looks easy. Plays are made to look easy even if they're difficult so the average fan doesn't always realize what they are seeing."
The Eagles continue with the ASICS Invitational playing today, Saturday, Sept. 7th, at noon against Gettysburg College and in the final matchup of the tournament at 4 p.m versus Thiel College.
"We're looking to clean things up," said Pavlik. "There are some things that can be easily made up that we are either miss communicating on or someone is assuming someone else will do it. I think we just need to clean our game up a little bit."
If you can't make it down to Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center to watch a match live, you can catch all the action for the ASICS invitational online by clicking here.
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