Reynolds Registers 4,000th Career Assist as Eagles Sweep in Chicago

CHICAGO, IL.- Juniata women's volleyball played a pair of matches at the University of Chicago Invite on Friday. In the first match of the day for the Eagles, they defeated Aurora 3-1 (25-16, 25-27, 25-13, 25-16.

Against the Spartans, Kelly Reynolds (Upper Saint Clair, Pa./Upper Saint Clair) recorded the 4,000th assist of her career. She becomes the sixth player in Juniata history to have 4,000 assists. Reynolds finished with 54 assists, five service aces, and five digs. Her five service aces represent a season-high.

The Eagles had a 7-6 lead early in the first set but a 10-3 run broke the set open and Juniata went up 17-9. The Spartans were only able to cut their deficit to as low as five points but the Eagles remained ahead for the rest of the frame.

Juniata had a 21-14 lead in the second set and looked to go ahead 2-0 in the match. The Spartans ripped off five straight points to make it 21-19. After tying the frame twice, Juniata had a 25-24 lead and needed one more point to win the stanza. Aurora scored three points down the stretch to win and tie the match at 1-1.

Aurora led 6-5 in the third set. JC countered with an 8-2 run to go up 13-8. The Eagles used a 12-5 to close out the Spartans and go ahead 2-1.

The two teams were tied at 5-5 in the fourth set. Juniata broke ahead with an 8-3 run to take a 13-8 lead. The Eagles maintained their lead for the rest of the set as they won 25-16 and claimed the match.

Megan Moroney (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor) tallied 17 kills and hit .593. She also had three assisted blocks. Mar-Jana Phillips (Carson, Calif./Rolling Hills Prep) added 12 kills and four assisted blocks while hitting .478. Glen Brumm (Oro Valley, Ariz./Canyon Del Oro) chipped in 11 kills and six digs. Katie Byrne (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) led the defense with 15 digs while Korin Koehler (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) contributed 11 digs.

The Eagles played Elmhurst in their second match. Juniata won by the score of 3-1 (25-22, 26-28, 25-21, 25-20).

JC led early in the first set but Elmhurst came back to go up 6-3. The Blue Jays led at one point 11-7. Following a timeout, the Eagles were able to regroup and put up four straight points to tie the match at 11-11. Elmhurst was able to break away and lead 17-16 but an Eagle 9-5 run to end the set gave JC the set victory.

Juniata went ahead 5-1 in the second set. The Blue Jays cut the lead down to one but the Eagles increased the advantage to as much as 15-8. Elmhurst was able to fight its away back as it claimed the set 28-26 to even the match at 1-1.

JC grabbed a 10-4 lead in the third frame and went ahead 18-10. Elmhurst rallied to get to 21-20. Juniata outscored the Blue Jays 4-1 the rest of the way to win the set 25-21. The Eagles got out to a 12-4 lead in the fourth frame. Elmhurst was able to keep pace but JC stayed ahead as it won 25-20 and took the match.

Reynolds bested her performance from earlier as she piled up 59 assists and added 10 digs in the process. Four Eagles reached double figures in kills led by both Phillips and Nakita Gearhart (Waynesboro, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) with 16. Moroney and Megan Conger (Rockville, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel) both tacked on 11 kills. Moroney led with five block assists with Phillips chipping in four. Byrne led in digs with 21. Reynolds picked up 10 digs and Shaina Robinett (Westchester, Pa./PA Leadership Charter School) added nine digs.

Juniata is back in action Saturday afternoon when it plays the host Maroons. Match time is at 4:00 p.m.