By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
Photo: JD Cavrich 

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The No. 7 Juniata women's volleyball team earned a  two match split today, dropping the opening contest 3-0 (25-17, 28-26, 25-21) to No. 17 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (UW-W), and following up with a non-conference victory over The University of Scranton, 3-0 (25-14, 25-10, 25-14).  Senior Amy Miller (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) and junior Christine Sumner (Dublin, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) were named to the Christopher Newport Invitational All-Tournament team for their performances over the weekend.

In the opening match, the Warhawks jumped out to an early 5-2 lead and continued to pile on in the first set. The Eagles fought off three set points before UW-W finally closed it out 25-17. In the second set, Juniata took a late 20-19 lead and held set point at 24-20, but the Warhawks forced extra points before taking a two set lead. The Eagles fought hard in the third set, but UW-W pulled out the upset win for Juniata's first loss of the season. Freshman Bryce Arnold (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg, Area) led the Eagles with 10 kills and 11 digs while Miller notched two of Juniata's six service aces.

The Eagles bounced back quickly dominating The University of Scranton in a non-conference match that lasted less than 60 minutes. Juniata combined for a team .321-attack percentage and out served the Royals 12-5 in service aces. Senior Courtney Lydick (McKean, Pa./General McLane) scored six kills off a .500-attack percentage to pace the Eagles offense.

Juniata took a commanding 11-3 lead in the first set off a 10-point run on the service of Sumner. After giving up just one point, Arnold took over serving, and the Eagles tacked on another seven straight points. The second set saw much of the same as Juniata fired off seven points in a row to take a 16-8 lead and followed up with sophomore Kristin Collins (Freedom, Pa./Ambridge) serving out the last six points of the set.

Juniata finished off the Royals by taking a 20-7 lead in the third set and shut the door on a four point Scranton run winning the last two points of the match. Senior Sarah McCarthy (Villa Park, Ill./Willowbrook) had a match-high 24 assists for the Eagles.

Juniata is next in action at home this Wednesday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m., when they host Geneva College in the programs annual Dig Pink event.

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