Juniata Cruises by Mary Washington in Battle of the Eagles

HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata women's volleyball team swept aside visiting Mary Washington in the opening match of the Wid Guisler Tournament, Friday afternoon at Memorial Gymnasium.  

Juniata opened the match with one of their best hitting performances in a set this season as they hit .529 as a team. Leading 13-10, Juniata blew the game wide open with an 11-0 push. Morgan Edwards (Lancaster, Pa. / Penn Manor) had two kills during the run while Victoria Taylor (Middletown, Del. / Delaware Military Academy) had one and Alyssa Tavera (Whittier, Calif. / La Salle H.S.) had an ace. Dejia Danhi (Ashburn, Va. / Stone Bridge) had a solo block and two block assists, while Edwards and Taylor contributed a block assist each. Mary Washington kept the set alive to make it 24-10, but another block by Danhi and Taylor ended set one, 25-11. 

Set two saw the teams trade points early, with two straight Mary Washington points make it 11-9 Juniata.  Three errors from Mary Washington, a kill from Taylor, an ace from Marie Gonsar (New Castle, Pa. / Shenango H.S.) and a block by Marybeth Weihbrecht (Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Cumberland Valley) and Taylor made it 17-9. Juniata wound up taking set two 25-14 with a kill from Gonsar ending the set. Juniata continued their efficient hitting as they hit .312 in the second set. 

The third set was the most competitive of the bunch, as Mary Washington held a 17-15 lead as they looked to force a fourth set. Juniata called timeout and responded with five straight points. A kill from Katie Byrne (Annapolis, Md. / Broadneck), a block from Edwards and Weihbrecht, an attack error by Mary Washington, a solo block from Weihbrecht made it 19-17. The visitors called timeout, and the teams went back and forth as JC maintained a three-point lead. With the score at 23-20a kill from Taylor gave JC match point a big block by Danhi ended the match, 25-20. 

Juniata will face Eastern at 7:00.