ASHLAND, Va.-The Juniata women's volleyball team defeated a scrappy Randolph Macon squad, 3-0, Saturday morning at Crenshaw Gym.
Juniata used excellent service to cruise to a 25-12 victory in set one as they had seven aces in the set. Marie Gonsar ( New Castle, Pa. / Shenango H.S.) had two aces, Katie Byrne (Annapolis, Md. / Broadneck) had two while Makenna Hallager (Glenolden, Pa. / Merion Mercy Academy), Alyssa Tavera (Whittier, Calif. / La Salle H.S.) and Dejia Danhi (Ashburn, Va. / Stone Bridge) each had one.
Three errors from the hosts and a kill from Morgan Edwards (Lancaster, Pa. / Penn Manor) put JC up 4-0 early in the second set, but the Yellow Jackets managed to take the lead as they used a 4-0 surge to push ahead 9-12. Following an Eagle timeout, kills from Marybeth Weihbrecht (Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Cumberland Valley) and Dejia Danhi (Ashburn, Va. / Stone Bridge) pulled the Eagles within one. Randolph-Macon rattled off three points to make it 11-15 before JC countered with a 6-0 rally to retake the lead at 17-15. The teams traded points as the Yellow Jackets managed to get set point at 22-24. Kills from Weihbrecht and Danhi tied the score and Randolph Macon called timeout but to no avail as a kill from Victoria Taylor (Middletown, Del. / Delaware Military Academy) and an ace from Byrne ended set two.
Set three followed a similar path, as the teams traded points early before Randolph Macon pushed ahead, leading by as many as five at 16-21. Two kills from Taylor, a block from Danhi and Moira Folan (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Oakland Catholic HS) along with a solo block from Danhi made it 21-22. A back and forth saw the Yellow Jackets again reach set point at 23-24, but Juniata was ready to end it. A kill from Taylor followed by a kill from Morgan and an error from Randolph Macon ended the set and the match.
During the match Byrne, surpassed the 2000 dig mark, the fifth person in program history to do so.
Juniata will face Washington and Lee at 2:00.