ROCHESTER, N.Y.- The Juniata women's volleyball team dominated Wesleyan, 3-0 (25-12, 25-23, 25-21), to win the NCAA Volleyball Rochester, NY Regional Championship Sunday afternoon inside Clark Memorial Gymnasium. The win means the Eagles advance to the Elite 8 at Francis Fieldhouse in St. Louis, Missouri, beginning Thursday.
Juniata came soaring out the gates as they surged ahead 10-2, with kills from Olivia Foley (Coldwater, Mich / Coldwater HS) off a well-placed dump to the back right corner and Victoria Taylor (Middletown, Del. / Delaware Military Academy) putting a ball in the back left corner that the Wesleyan defender couldn't handle. After a Cardinal kill, Foley dumped another ball over the back of her head to the right side where no Cardinal was. Taylor and Grace Erskine(Mooresville, N.C. / Community School of Davidson) combined by a block, Taylor crushed a cross-court kill, and Sydney Ohl (Dallastown, Pa. / Dallastown Area) continued her strong serving with an ace. The Cardinals took the next point following a time-out. Still, JC didn't stop as Erskine tallied two straight kills; Lily Podolan (Columbus, Ohio / Worthington Kilbourne) added a big kill down the line before a Wesleyan error made it 10-2. Juniata cruised through the set, and on set point, Podolan placed a ball with her right hand just in on the back right corner to win set one, 25-12.
Took set 1✅
— Juniata Athletics (@JuniataEagles) November 14, 2021
On to the next! We lead Wesleyan 1-0��#GoEagles #WingsUp #TakingFlight pic.twitter.com/qDrBIfcE5g
The second set was much tighter, with Wesleyan taking the lead late in the set at 17-18. A Taylor kill, and a Cardinal ball handling error gave JC a narrow 19-18 lead. The Cardinals tied it again before Erskine gently placed a kill over the block, and Aly Reardon (Downingtown, Pa. / Downingtown West HS) tallied a kill after the ball took a fortuitous bounce off the ceiling to make it 21-19. The teams traded points, and with the score at 23-22, Mackenzie Coley (Norco, Calif. / Norco HS) walloped a ball to give JC set point. Reardon ended it with another ball down the line Wesleyan couldn't handle as the Eagles took set two 25-23.
A Reardon kill puts away set 2!! ��
— Juniata Athletics (@JuniataEagles) November 14, 2021
Eagles lead 2-0! Bring it home now @JuniataWVB ��#GoEagles #WingsUp #TakingFlight pic.twitter.com/DbESpD6Ar3
The Cardinals again had a lead early in the third, but Juniata would not be denied. A 13-4 run saw the Eagles take control of the set, with the final point of the run involving a diving dig by Kiona Sky Rousset-Hernandez (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico / Colegio Bautista de Carolina HS) which ended with Reardon mashing another ball the Cardinals couldn't handle to make it 22-16. A service error momentarily slowed the Eagles, but Podolan smashed back-to-back kills to get Juniata to match point. Wesleyan made JC earn it, taking the next four points. Reardon went off the block to end the match, 25-21, as Juniata won their 30th consecutive match and became Regional Champions for the second time under head coach Heather Pavlik.
Last point of a strong team win for @JuniataWVB paid with a sweep ����
— Juniata Athletics (@JuniataEagles) November 14, 2021
The Juniata Eagles are your NCAA Regionals Champs!!! Congratulations!!������#GoEagles #WingsUp #TakingFlight #NCAARegionals #DIIIVolleyball pic.twitter.com/I3yQDqqSqf
The win is the 30th of the season, with the Eagles winning percentage sitting at .969 on the year. It is the team's 30th trip to the Elite 8 as a program, with the last trip being back in 2018. Foley was named Most Outstanding Player, while Taylor and Rousset-Hernandez joined her on the all-tournament team.
The Eagles are the number #1 overall seed and will take on #8 MIT at 1:30 on Thursday.
