Eagles Advance to Landmark Championship with Sweep of Blue Jays

Eagles Advance to Landmark Championship with Sweep of Blue Jays

HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata women's volleyball team advanced to the Landmark Championship game after their 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-14) win over Elizabethtown, Wednesday evening at Memorial Gymnasium. 

With the score at 8-7 early in the first, two errors by the Blue Jays, a block by Emma Davis (East Berlin, Pa / Dover Area HS) and a kill from Aly Reardon (Downingtown, Pa. / Downingtown West HS) made it 12-7 and Etown called a timeout. The teams traded points coming out of the break, but with the score at 16-11, Juniata began to separate. Victoria Taylor (Middletown, Del. / Delaware Military Academy) and Dejia Danhi (Ashburn, Va. / Stone Bridge) notched back to back kills and Elizabethtown called another timeout, but to no avail. Morgan Edwards (Lancaster, Pa. / Penn Manor) tallied a kill of her own and Reardon served up two aces to make it 21-11. Later, with the score at 24-15, Taylor placed the ball in the back-right corner to end set one 25-15. 

The second set followed a similar script early as the Eagles held 12-9 lead. Danhi and Davis combined for a block, Marie Gonsar (New Castle, Pa. / Shenango H.S.) smacked two straight kills. The Blue Jays called timeout, but Juniata kept coming as Gonsar put down another kill, Davis added another and Moira Folan (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Oakland Catholic HS) added one of her own to make it 19-9. Juniata wound up taking set two, 25-17. 

Eagles totaled a match-high 19 kills in the third set as they hit .341 and pulled away with the score at 17-13, scoring eight of the final nine to punch their ticket to the Landmark Championship, 25-14.

The Eagles will play the winner of Susquehanna/Scranton on Saturday. If Susquehanna,wins  the Eagles will travel to Selinsgrove but would be the host if Scranton were to spring the upset.