Invitational Schedule and Results
HUNTINGDON, PA – The No. 6 Juniata College women's volleyball team will host the annual ASICS Invitational on Friday and Saturday. Five teams will face off in a series of nine matches at Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center. Along with host Juniata, Salisbury, Franklin & Marshall College, Christopher Newport, and SUNY Cortland will compete this weekend.
Juniata
The Eagles enter the tournament with an overall record of 9-1. Juniata is coming off a 2-1 weekend at the Wittenberg Classic. JC defeated Ohio Northern 3-0 last Friday but was bested by #5 Cal-Lutheran, 3-0. The Eagles rallied back to upend the #9 host Tigers, 3-2. Juniata holds a commanding lead over the competition with an overall record of 45-5 against this weekend's opponents.
The Eagles being play at 4 p.m. on Friday against Salisbury before the nightcap at 8 p.m. versus Christopher Newport. On Saturday, Juniata faces F&M at 1 p.m. and SUNY Cortland at 5 p.m.
Salisbury University
The Sea Gulls stand at 11-2 on the year and are coming off a 2-2 weekend at the U-Mass Boston Tournament. Salisbury swept its matches on Saturday with wins over Western Connecticut State and Middlebury. Senior Julie Poston paced the Gulls with a career-high 22 kills, needing only 37 attack attempts to reach the total and hitting .541 percent against the Colonials. A trio of sophomores chipped in for the SU hitting, as Katie Stouffer finished second on the squad with nine kills, and Jordan Lawson and Shannon Russell both added seven, each. Freshman Alexis Howatt tallied 33 assists to lead the setting, and senior Michelle Meehan notched a career-high 31 digs in the match. Russell and Stouffer both had double-digit digs, as well, with 11 and 10, respectively. Ending the weekend with a three-set sweep of Middlebury, Poston continued her big day with a team-high 16 kills, while Stouffer followed with 13. Howatt and Meehan continued to lead the team with 22 assists and 19 digs, respectively, and Stouffer reached double-digit digs again with 11. The Sea Gulls enjoyed an efficient match, tallying 44 total kills with only nine attack errors and eight total blocks with only one blocking error.
The Sea Gulls open with the Eagles in Memorial Gym at 4 p.m. and then switch to the intramural gym to take on F&M. On Saturday they face the Red Dragons at 11 a.m. for their lone match of the day.
Franklin and Marshall
The Diplomats started the season 6-0 but have run into a rough patch recently as they have dropped four out of their last five matches including one to last year's regional runner-up, Stevenson. F&M faced Muhlenberg on Wednesday night in its Centennial Conference opener with the Mules winning a thrilling 3-2 match. Julie Harvey paced the F&M offense with 12 kills, while Kelsey Michenko added 11. Caroline Hubbard notched 38 helpers and 14 digs for her fourth double-double of the season, while Parys Zambas recorded 16 kills.
The Diplomats face Salisbury at 6 p.m. and SUNY Cortland at 8 p.m. in opening day action on Friday. Saturday, F&M will play host Juniata at 1 p.m. and finish off the tournament against Christopher Newport at 3 p.m.
Christopher Newport
The Captains sport an overall record of 11-1. CNU dropped its first match of the season to Mount Union 3-0 at home last weekend. In the latest AVCA poll, CNU moved one spot from #13 to #12. Rachel Conway and Eliza Fisher earned All-Tournament honors at the CNU Invitational. After an incredible effort on Friday evening, Fisher continued her spectacular weekend with 20 more kills and five blocks on Saturday. Overall, she led all players at the tournament with 41 kills and ranked second with a .366 hitting percentage during the four matches. Conway also collected All-Tournament honors following an equally impressive run. The junior setter posted 65 assists on Saturday and led the entire tournament with 141 helpers over the course of the two-day invitational. She also contributed 15 digs on Saturday, including 10 against Johns Hopkins. In addition to Conway and Fisher, Maddie McCann also excelled on Saturday with a team-high 24 kills, while Brooke Moore did outstanding work on the defensive end. The senior libero averaged 6.50 digs-per-set on Saturday and finished the tournament with 64 during the four matches.
The Captains take on Cortland and host Juniata on Friday at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. They close out the weekend versus F&M at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
SUNY Cortland
The Red Dragons are 6-7 and snapped a six-match losing streak with a 3-1 victory over Skidmore College at the Union College Women's Volleyball Invitational last weekend. Sophomore Melanie McGuirk was named to the all-tournament team. She finished with 23 digs versus St. Michael's and 27 digs and three aces against the Thoroughbreds.
The Red Dragons open against Christopher Newport at 6 p.m. and finish Friday versus F&M. Cortland plays at 11 a.m. on Saturday against the Sea Gulls and ends the tournament against the Eagles.
