HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata women's volleyball team completed a straight-set weekend with back-to-back sweeps of Catholic (25-15, 25-16, 25-9) and Lynchburg (25-10, 25-11, 25-17) at Memorial Gym on Saturday afternoon, going 9-0 across three matches.
Middle hitter Mackenzie Coley's .731 hitting percentage in the Lynchburg match earned her spots in the Juniata record book. In program history (minimum 20 attempts), it's the fifth-best, while since rally-scoring was introduced in 2001 (minimum of 15 attempts for this category), it's the tenth-best.
The win against Catholic completed the Landmark Conference regular season schedule for Juniata, as they ended 9-0. The result against Goucher yesterday and Catholic today locked in the first seed and a first-round bye in the 2023 Landmark playoffs.
Three blocks in an 8-1 run to open the first set against Catholic gave Juniata a comfortable lead from the start. The teams traded points through the middle stages of the set, with the Cardinals staying within six at 15-9. A Lily Podolan kill, Mackenzie Coley kill, and Sophia Repholz ace got them back out to a nine-point lead, while the sides went back to trading points up to a third-point Eagles run to wrap up the set, with set point coming on a Podolan kill.
Mia Schubert had three kills early in set two to get Juniata ahead 4-1, with Juniata maintaining that lead up to a 10-6 scoreline. From there, the Eagles strung together six straight points with two more Repholz aces and three kills from Coley for a 16-6 lead. Catholic did put up a slight counter with four straight points to get back to 19-12, but Juniata maintained the pace to the finish for a 25-16 victory, with a match-high 20 kills but a match-low .298 hitting percentage.
The Juniata offense was at a match-best .520 hitting percentage in the third set with just one attacking error while they kept the Cardinals to –.040. The Cardinals were able to find an early 5-2 lead, but Juniata began clawing back via kills from Coley, Williams, and Audrey Muth and an ace from Olivia Foley for a 6-6 tie. Juniata then strung together six straight points split by a few Catholic points before posting the final 12 points unanswered.
Coley had 16 kills with a .452 hitting percentage with five total blocks. Courtney William hit .538 with eight kills, while Audrey Muth was at .294 with nine kills. Olivia Foley collected 41 assists, while Repholz led the team with six aces.
Juniata was well clear of Lynchburg early in the first set of that match, quickly ahead 11-2 with five Coley kills in that stretch. Juniata continued to consistently outpace the Hornets, ending ahead 25-10 on two Repholz aces.
Juniata evaded early resistance in the second set, holding an 11-8 lead in the middle stages. They then scored the next five points off three Lynchburg errors, a kill from Muth, and an ace from Repholz. Lynchburg strung together a couple before Juniata posted nine straight, ending the set on a Coley kill.
Juniata faced pushback in the second set after jumping out to a 12-6 lead, with a 7-1 run for Lynchburg getting back within one point, 17-16. From there, Juniata regained momentum with kills from Coley and Williams and a Lacie Brown ace. Juniata's final five-point run featured two Ava Gummer kills, an ace from Abbey Telesz, and a kill from Podolan before an attack error confirmed the result.
Coley ended the match with a .731 hitting percentage to go into the program's record book with 19 kills, while Podolan also had a strong attacking performance with nine kills and a .438 hitting percentage. Repholz had a team-high 15 digs with three aces, while Schubert led with four aces. Foley posted 33 aces.
The Juniata women's volleyball team hosts the Wid Guisler Invitational next Friday, November 3rd, and Saturday, November 4th. They'll face Ohio Wesleyan on Senior Night on Friday before hosting St. John Fisher in the regular season finale on Saturday.
