By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
Photo: JD Cavrich
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The No. 16 Juniata College women's volleyball team remains undefeated on the year after knocking off Ohio Northern University 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 26-24) and upsetting No. 10 Wittenberg 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-19) on day one of the Wittenberg Fall Classic. The Eagles move to 10-0 on the season and are set to face No. 6 Washington-St. Louis tomorrow at noon.
"It was a really good day for us all around," said head coach Heather Pavlik. "You have to play good competition to see where you are and to see where you are going to end up. I think we know a little more about our team now."
In the first match of the fall classic the Eagles faced regional powerhouse Ohio Northern. Juniata battled hard through three close sets before closing the door on the Polar Bears. The Eagles were led once again by junior standout Amelia Kepler (Kane, Pa./Kane Area) with 20 kills and a staggering .457 attack percentage. Freshman Nakita Gearhart (Waynesboro, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) continued to establish herself as a top-notch middle hitter slamming down eight kills and finishing the match with a .357 attack percentage.
In a clash of top 20 teams, the Eagles faced No. 10 Wittenberg on its home court. Juniata trailed throughout the first set and worked hard to stay within reach of the Tigers lead, but was unable to move ahead until late in the set. The Eagles stayed strong and battled back to even the score at 22 a piece. With the score even at 23, the Eagles got back-to-back kills from senior Courtney Lydick (McKean, Pa./General McLane) and Kepler to close out the first set win.
Juniata cruised through the second set wining 25-16. Senior outside hitter Amy Miller (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) rallied from a slow match against Ohio Northern to lead the Eagles with a match-high 15 kills.
"In the first match against Ohio Northern we were a little sloppy and Amy had to deal with some bad passes," said Pavlik. "In the second match we were passing better and she was getting good looks and really took advantage of that. Amy did a fantastic job of using their block to her advantage."
Juniata played a very efficient match hitting at a .246 clip as a team and amassing nearly twice as many kills as the Tigers in the same number of total attempts.
"Our passing was excellent today – a lot better than it has been," said Pavlik. "That's really a testament to our servers in our practice gym. The girls serve really hard during practice and our passers have to learn to receive well and that's a huge help in game."
Junior libero Brittani Young (Columbia, Pa./Hempfield Area) recorded 19 digs in the bout with Ohio Northern and came away from the showdown against Wittenberg with a match-high 22 digs. Young, along with Kepler and Miller, had two service aces in the match against Wittenberg.
"Brittani had a phenomenal day," said Pavlik. "She really played outstanding against Wittenberg. She came up big for us a number of times during that second match. We served very hard all day long. We made a few mistakes, but when you serve hard your going to make mistakes and our tough serves really helped us out today."
Senior setter Sarah McCarthy (Villa Park, Ill./Willowbrook) also set a match-high with 34 assists – 10 more than Wittenberg had as a team. Junior middle hitter Christine Sumner (Dublin, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) drilled home the final kill of the match against the Tigers. Through three sets, Sumner sent home nine kills with a .389 attack percentage.
"Christine had a slow start in the first set against Wittenberg, but she really came around," said Pavlik. "She did a great job of making herself available to the setter."
The Eagles next take on No. 6 Washington-St. Louis tomorrow at noon.
"Wash U is always a very physical team," said Pavlik. "They are going to take a lot of swings and a lot of hard swings. If we don't play well they'll force us out of system so we're going to have to be efficient with our passing and we're going to have to serve tough."
Juniata next returns home Tuesday, Sept. 24th against Indiana University (Pa.) at 7 pm.
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