HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The #1 Juniata women's volleyball team kicked off the NCAA Tournament with a 3-0 (25-10, 25-13, 25-19) of Penn St. Altoona Friday evening in front of a robust crowd in the cozy confines of Memorial Gymnasium.
With the score at 4-2 in the first set, the Eagles scored nine consecutive points, which featured three Kennedy Christy aces, kills from Audrey Muth and Mackenzie Coley, and a block from Olivia Foley and Coley had JC up 13-2. A Christy kill later ended set one, 25-10. Juniata hit .258 in the first set.
The Eagles hit a match-high .389 to take set two and got the middles going as they got five kills from Courtney Williams and six from Coley in the set. A Muth kill pushed them to set point, and an attack error by the Lions ended it 25-13.
The Lions battled in the third set, holding a 6-8 lead midway through the set. Four kills from Muth and two from Emily Sullivan had the Eagles back up by five. The visitors took the next point before Sullivan put down two more kills while Muth and Mia Schubert added one apiece to make it 18-9. Ava Gummer got JC to match point at 24-15; the Lions fought off four match points before Maggie Hayes ended the match.
The last time the teams met was 2012, and Juniata holds a 13-0 record against PSU Altoona.
The Eagles continue their season tomorrow when they take on four-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology at 7:00. The teams met earlier in the year on October 21st when the Eagles won 3-1.
