Women’s Volleyball Toughs Out Two Wins At Clarkson Invitational

POTSDAM, N.Y.- It did not come easy but the #3 Juniata women's volleyball team picked up two wins to finish a perfect 4-0 on the weekend at the Clarkson Invitational. The Eagles defeated the host Golden Knights 3-1 in their first match on Saturday and battled a tough Ithaca team to a 3-2 decision in the final match.

Against #20 Clarkson, the Eagles totaled 82 digs led by Katie Byrne's (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) 23. Korin Koehler (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) added 16 while Kelly Reynolds (Upper Saint Clair, Pa./Upper Saint Clair) chipped in 12 to go along with 42 assists. Christine Irwin (State College, Pa./State College) turned in a solid performance with 15 kills, eight digs, and four service aces. Nakita Gearhart (Waynesboro, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) put up 13 kills and six assisted blocks.

The Eagles built a lead of 13-7 in the first set but Clarkson was able to keep as close as 18-17. The score stood at 23-20 but kills from Gearhart and Rachel Boe (San Carlos, Calif./Saint Francis) gave JC the two points it needed to take the set and lead the match 1-0.

Juniata scored the first point of the second set on a Brittanie Tannenbaum (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Highlands Ranch) kill but the Golden Knights rattled off seven straight points to go up 7-1. JC still trailed 15-8 as it looked like the match would be evened up. At 19-14 CU, the Eagles mounted their comeback. A 7-2 JC run tied the frame up at 21-all. The two teams would exchange points back and forth until the 26-26 stalemate was broken up by kills from Irwin and Mar-Jana Phillips (Carson, Calif./Rolling Hills Prep) as Juniata took the second set 28-26.

Clarkson led the third set 7-4 until the Eagles answered with a 6-0 run to go ahead 10-7. JC was up by as much as 18-13 but the Golden Knights shut the Eagles down for the remainder of the frame as they would go on to win the set 25-18.

JC was up 7-6 in the fourth stanza and pulled away with eight straight points to lead 15-6. With the score standing at 18-12, a 7-1 Eagle run ended any hopes of the match going to a fifth set as Juniata won 25-13.

Against the Bombers, Suzanne Gloekler (Pittsburgh, Pa./Oakland Catholic) led the offense with 20 kills and had a .500 hitting percentage. Glen Brumm (Oro Valley, Ariz./Canyon Del Oro) also put together a strong showing with 13 kills, 10 digs, and four service aces. Reynolds totaled 54 assists and 14 digs. Gearhart added nine kills and Byrne contributed 17 digs.

Juniata led by as much as 20-13 in the opening set. IC got to as close as 21-17 but the Eagles were able to close out the Bombers with a 4-0 run to end the frame.

The Eagles got out to a huge 12-4 lead in the second set. The Bombers got a brief rally going with six straight points but Juniata countered with a 7-0 run to go ahead 19-10. JC had little trouble with Ithaca as it would easily take the set 25-14.

Set three was different as Ithaca led from start to finish. The Bombers' advantage grew to as much as 21-11 until a 9-2 Eagle run cut the lead to 23-20. Ithaca was able to withstand the Juniata rally and took the set 25-20.

The fourth set grew tight after Juniata went ahead 14-10. IC chipped away at the deficit and with the score tied at 20-20, used a 4-1 run to take the set and forced a deciding fifth stanza.

In the fifth set, a 6-6 tie was broken up by a 6-3 JC run. The Eagles would trail by no less than three point as they went on to claim the set and the match.

Juniata returns to Huntingdon and will host the ASICS Invitational next weekend. The Eagles will play #11 Christopher Newport on Friday at 7:00 p.m. in Memorial Gymnasium.