Volleyball Sweeps Two Landmark Matches
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The No. 10 Juniata College women’s volleyball team made a clean sweep of yet another day of Landmark Conference play, defeating Moravian College, 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-11) and Susquehanna University 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 26-24).
By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
Photo: Jennifer Jones
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The No. 10 Juniata College women's volleyball team made a clean sweep of yet another day of Landmark Conference play, defeating Moravian College, 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-11) and Susquehanna University 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 26-24).
"It was a team effort all the way around," said head coach Heather Pavlik. "We had a lot of different people contributing. We had moments where we were very sharp and maybe some moments where we weren't as sharp, but we found a way to make it work."
Against Moravian, the Eagles were led by senior Rachelle Wiegand (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) with a match high 12 kills and a strong .455 attack percentage. Freshman Mar-Jana Phillips (Carson, Calif./Rolling Hills Preparatory) was very effective with a .667 attack percentage slamming down ten kills in the match.
"Rachelle hit the ball very very well," said Pavlik. "She's been doing that in the practice gym for a while now so I was expecting this. She was very explosive and doing a good job hitting a lot of different shots, using some off speed shots. She was very good."
Senior Amy Miller (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) was in both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, hitting in four service aces and pulling out 12 digs. Junior libero Brittani Young (Columbia, Pa./Hempfield Area) added a match high 15 digs.
In the afternoon match against Susquehanna, junior Amelia Kepler (Kane, Pa./Kane Area) led Juniata with 10 kills, with Miller notching nine, and freshman Nakita Gearhart (Waynesboro, Pa./Greencastle Antrim) rounding out the top threats for the Eagles with seven kills and a .375 attack percentage.
"They all did a good job," said Pavlik. "It's been different people different at different times and that's been fun to watch. We've had lots of different people contributing and stepping up when we needed them and I think those three stepped up."
Juniata faces off against Goucher College tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. in the final match of the Landmark Conference regular season.
"It's always important with your last conference match," said Pavlik. "It's one we need to win. We need to make sure we're sharp tomorrow morning. It is a morning match, which can be tough. We need to find a way to make sure we prepared to play and be sharp from beginning to end."
The Eagles return home Oct 25-26 to host the annual Wid Guisler tournament.
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