ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. - The Juniata women's volleyball team won both matches against Elizabethtown and Moravian 3-1, on the home court of the Elizabethtown Blue Jays Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles took on the Moravian Greyhounds in their first matchup of the day. Marybeth Weihbrecht (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) led the Eagles' offense with 12 kills, four block assists, and one solo block. Megan Moroney (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor) and Morgan Edwards (Lancaster, Pa./Penn Manor) each put up seven kills while Tatum Poirier (Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley HS) totaled 12 digs and two service aces.
Juniata swept through the first two sets of play, defeating the Greyhounds 25-14 and 25-8. After a kill from Weihbrecht in set one, the Eagles went on a five-point run, taking the lead 14-6. Juniata never faltered, ultimately taking the set. Juniata dominated the second set as well, allowing Moravian to put only eight on the board.
Moravian refused to back down, putting forth a strong showing in the third set. Sophia Gingrich (Minneapolis, Minn./Minneapolis Southwest HS) had a service ace to put the Eagles up to start the set, but the Greyhounds kept within a point. After a Moravian kill and three attack errors by Juniata, the Greyhounds reached a 6-3 advantage. Poirier then narrowed the gap to 8-9 with a kill, but the Eagles could not seem to gain momentum to get ahead. Moravian went on an 8-14 run until Weihbrecht, Christine Irwin (State College, Pa./State College), and Samantha Freese (Lewisburg, Pa./Red Land HS) each notched a kill followed by a Moravian attack error to improve to 13-15. Juniata continued to battle, but fell 22-25.
The Eagles jumped out to a lead to start the fourth set, but Moravian kept within a point. Two Greyhound kills pushed Moravian ahead by one, and the two teams continued to trade points from there. The Greyhounds widened their lead to 14-19 between two kills and two errors on Juniata. Alyssa Tavera's (Whittier, Calif./La Salle) service ace and Weihbrecht's kill put the Eagles within two, and the team continued to pushback on Moravian's lead. Weihbrecht had another kill to gain the 21-20 lead, and Edwards notched two more to reach set point. An attack error on Moravian left Juniata to clinch the 25-20 victory.
Juniata's second match of the day against Elizabethtown unfolded in much the same way, going four sets with the Eagles ultimately coming out on top. Moroney led the team with nine kills, one service ace, and five block assists while Weihbrecht notched eight kills, two solo blocks, and three block assists. Edwards logged eight kills and two block assists, and Marie Gonsar (New Castle, Pa./Shenango HS) totaled seven kills, three service aces, and two block assists. Katie Byrne (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) had 21 digs.
The Eagles dominated set one with Moroney leading the way with three kills as the team took the win, 25-11.
Set two gave Juniata a bit of trouble as the Blue Jays jumped on them early, creating a difference of 1-6 to start the set. The Eagles were able to narrow Elizabethtown's lead 11-12 after two kills by Gonsar, but Elizabethtown's seven-point run was enough for the Blue Jays to secure a firm lead and take the set.
The third set was a tight matchup between the two teams. The Eagles were able to creep out to a 6-3 lead, but two Elizabethtown kills left the teams at a 7-7 standstill. The Eagles and Blue Jays continued to trade points, keeping the score within one point of each other until three kills and several Juniata errors had the Blue Jays pulling away 13-19. Juniata rebounded with kills from Edwards and Moroney to put the score within one. The tight battle continued until Gonsar notched a kill for a 23-21 lead. Two attack errors led to Juniata taking the set.
Carrying over their momentum, the Eagles never wavered from their initial lead in the fourth set. A six-point Juniata run in the midst of play created a 17-8 cushion for the Eagles. The team continued to dominate the set, and two kills from Poirier alongside an Elizabethtown attack error sealed the 25-16 victory.
"We just weren't sharp, we were a little off and a little sloppy. Some of that falls on me as we mixed and matched lineups to try some things," said coach Heather Pavlik. "I thought Moravian and Elizabethtown played really hard. They challenged us to raise our intensity level. At the end of matches and the end of games we managed to do that. We just need to learn how to do that all game and bring that sense of urgency we played with at the end from the beginning."
Juniata returns home on Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 7:00pm to face Clarion.
