Eagles Defeat Tartans in Straight Sets to Confirm Perfect ASICS Invite Weekend

HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata women's volleyball team concluded the 30th ASICS Invitational with a straight-set victory over Carnegie Mellon (26-24, 26-21, 25-17) on Saturday afternoon to cap a weekend without a set dropped across three matches. 

Audrey Muth was key in the Eagles attack, totaling 12 kills with a .312 hitting percentage with a pair of block assists. Mackenzie Coley added on ten kills, while Courtney Williams had six kills with a .400 hitting percentage.  

Kiona Sky Rousset-Hernandez collected 18 digs, an ace, and an assist, while Mia Schubert also provided strong passing support with 13 digs, an ace, and an assist. Olivia Foley had 30 assists with six digs, while Kennedy Christy and Sydney Ohl had two aces apiece.  

Juniata was kept to a .188 hitting percentage to the Tartans' .250 in the first set, but they recovered from an early 1-7 deficit. A 10-2 run featured five Muth kills to get back to a 12-10 lead, but the Tartans regained form to earn eight of the next ten points to draw ahead at 14-18.  

The Eagles got within one at 19-20 in a stretch with two Coley kills and a Foley dump over the next. The Tartans found the next two before Juniata pulled back ahead and got to match point at 24-23 thanks to three more Muth kills. An Eagles attack error gave the Tartans life before a Williams kill, and an Ohl ace confirmed the first set. 

After starting the second set with a 5-0 lead, the Eagles soon faced a Tartans rally that saw Carnegie Mellon draw ahead at 10-11. Juniata then collected six of the next seven points to draw ahead 16-12. From there, points were consistently traded, including a four-point Juniata run with two Christy kills. The Eagles won the set on a service error. 

Juniata hit a match-best .313, keeping attacking errors to just one in the set, while the Tartans tallied a match-high nine errors. Juniata built a five-point cushion at 7-2 thanks to four errors from the Tartans, holding a gap of around half a dozen points through the middle stages of set three. At 17-10, Juniata strung together four straight points, including a Muth kill, a Muth-Williams block, and a service error and attack error from the Tartans. Carnegie Mellon took the next five points, including four kills, to get back to 21-15, but the Eagles found momentum once again, securing the final match of the weekend on a Schubert ace. 

Juniata ends the ASICS Invitational, not dropping a set across the weekend to #10 Berry, #25 Christopher Newport, and RV Carnegie Mellon. They stand at 6-0 through week two, a 33-game winning streak dating back to September 17th of last season. 

The Eagles take a trip to the other side of the country next weekend, as they head to the California Lutheran Invitational on Friday, September 15th, and Saturday, September 16th, to face more strong opponents in #2 Claremont-Mudd Scripps, #19 UC Santa Cruz, and RV Chicago. 

RV – Receiving Votes 

ASICS INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM