HUNTINGDON, PA- The women's volleyball team had to grind it out but in the end came out victorious as it defeated Susquehanna 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 27-25) on Saturday night in the Landmark Conference Championship match at a loud Memorial Gymnasium. It is the Eagles' eighth straight Landmark championship and in the process Juniata earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Most Valuable Player Nakita Gearhart (Waynesboro, PA/Greencastle-Antrim) led the Eagles in kills with 13. She also added five digs, one solo block, and one assisted block. Megan Moroney (Mentor, OH/Mentor) tied a season-high with 12 kills and picked up five assisted blocks. She led Juniata with a .571 hitting percentage. Lydia Mueller (Carlisle, PA/Carlisle) contributed four kills and five digs. Mar-Jana Phillips (Carson, CA/Rolling Hills Prep) finished with six kills and four assisted blocks.
Brittani Young (Columbia, PA/Hempfield Area) led the defense with 16 digs. Chelsea Scafuro (Geneva, OH/Genvea) tallied seven digs. Kelly Reynolds (Upper Saint Clair, PA/Upper Saint Clair) also had seven digs while totaling 32 assists.
"I didn't think this was going to be an easy one," said head coach Heather Pavlik afterwards. "Susquehanna is playing excellently and we knew we had to execute down the stretch and that it wasn't going to be a blowout. Its probably what we needed going into the NCAA Tournament," Pavilk added.
The first set was a tight battle as neither team led by more than two points early to midway through the set. With SU leading 19-18, the Eagles broke off a 5-0 run which included three points on Crusader errors. Juniata led 23-19 before Susquehanna scored three straight to get within one points of tying the game. The Eagles, however, staved off the SU threat as Moroney's two kills gave JC the win.
The second frame mirrored the first as it was close throughout. Susquehanna led late 21-19 but the Eagles again would respond with three points to go up 22-21. The Crusaders tied it three times with the final time coming at 24-24. Kills from Gearhart and Phillips in the end were all that Juniata needed to take the set and go up 2-0.
SU had leads of 4-3 and 5-3 in the third set. With Juniata ahead 10-9, the Crusaders 7-1 run gave them a 16-11 advantage. The lead was still 17-13 but a strong Eagle five-point rally gave the home team an 18-17 lead. The teams would trade off points but after Juniata went ahead 23-21, the Crusaders responded with two points to tie it up at 23-23.
After a kill from Gearhart gave JC a 24-23 lead, a service error by Christine Sumner (Dublin, OH/Bishop Watterson) gave SU a point to tie. Susquehanna then took the lead on a kill from Morgan Whiteman. In the end, it was back-to-back attack errors by SU that gave Juniata the points it need to take the set and the match.
The Eagles will be making their 34th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The announcement of the 64-team field will be made this Monday at 11 a.m.
