HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata women's volleyball team opened the 2023 Wid Guisler Invitational weekend with a sweep of Ohio Wesleyan University (25-17, 25-19, 25-23) on Friday night.
Prior to the match, the team's seniors, Kennedy Christy, Olivia Foley, and Kiona Sky Rousset-Hernandez were honored as part of the match.
Juniata was quick to jump in to take control of the first set after a 2-2 start. With Rousset-Hernandez serving, Juniata posted seven straight points, including two Mackenzie Coley kills, an ace from Rousset-Hernandez, and kills from Lily Podolan and Christy. Another six-point run at 15-7 with three Bishops attack errors got them four points from the set victory. From there, Ohio Wesleyan were able to string together a 10-3 run, making use of six Eagles attacking errors in that stretch to make the scoreline 24-17. Rousset-Hernandez notched a kill to earn the set point 25-17. While Juniata hit .194 in the first set, they kept their opponents to -.097 with nine attacking errors and just six kills.
The Bishops strung together four straight points to open the second set, and they were able to maintain a moderate lead for much of the early portion of set two. Four straight kills, with three from Christy, got Juniata back within one. A kill and an ace for Ohio Wesleyan gave them a 14-11 score before Juniata again put together fourth straight points, including kills from Podolan and Coley and a Rousset-Hernandez ace. The Bishops again regained footing with a 5-1 stretch, making use of three attack errors, a setting error, and a blocking error from the Eagles. Juniata soon recovered, scoring the next nine points, including four kills from Coley, ending on a Christy ace for the second set at 25-19.
After trading points to open set three, the Eagles went on a 7-1 stretch with two Audrey Muth kills to get out to a 12-6 lead. The Bishops looked to deny a straight-set win, though, going 10-2 to take a 16-14 lead in a stretch that featured six errors from Juniata. Juniata leveled the scoreline at 16 each with a Williams kill and a Podolan-Coley block. Ohio Wesleyan took the next point on a kill before Juniata strung together four straight on an ace from Mia Schubert and kills from Coley and Christy. The sides continued to trade points, but the Eagles again faced resistance at the 23-19 scoreline. Ohio Wesleyan earned four of the next five points to get back within one at match point, but a Muth kill secured Juniata's fourth consecutive straight-set win.
Coly led the team in kills with 12, while Muth had 10 with a .348 hitting percentage. Rousset-Hernandez had a team-high three aces and 14 digs. Foley ended the match with 33 assists, averaging 11 per set.
Juniata concludes the 2023 regular season tomorrow with the final match of the Wid Guisler Invitational against Saint John Fisher University at 1:30 pm. It also marks the team's regular-season finale.
