Eagles Sweep Maroons, #4 Athenas to Move to 9-0 on the Year

THOUSAND OAKS, CA- The Eagles wrapped up day two of the Cal Lu Fornia Invitational with a pair of sweeps, defeating University of Chicago 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-22) before defeating #4 Claremont Mudd Scripps 3-0 (25-12, 31-29, 25-20), Saturday afternoon at Gilbert Arena. 

Set one against Chicago saw the Maroons lead by as many as four and eventually fight their way to set point at 22-24. The Eagles fought back with kills from Mackenzie Coley and Kennedy Christy , along with a block from Coley and Olivia Foley 10 put the Eagles at set point 25-24. The Maroons took the next point to keep the set going via kill, but Christy tallied another to give JC another set point, and Audrey Muth ended the set with a kill of her own, 27-25.  

The Eagles dominated the second set as they raced out to a 15-7 lead behind the strength of six straight points and never looked back as they took the set on an ace from Sydney Ohl.  

In the third set, with the score at 6-6, Juniata capitalized on four errors by the Maroon, along with kills from Lily Podolan and Christy and two consecutive Ohl aces to go ahead 13-7. Juniata coasted from there, taking the third set and the match on three errors in a row by the Maroons, 25-13. 

In their final match on the West Coast, the Eagles had a big matchup with a fellow top-five ranked team in CMS, and clearly, they were ready to go as JC completely dominated the opening set. Juniata hit .355 and held the Athenas to .032 as they jumped ahead 18-10. The Eagles scored the final six points of the set, as Courtney Williams and Podolan combined for a block to end the set 25-12. 

The second set appeared to be on the same track as JC led 18-11 midway through, but CMS didn't back down. They battled their way back into the set with an 8-1 rally that knotted things at 19. Neither team would lead by more than two the rest of the set, and the Eagles had to fight off four different set points. At 28-29, Christy smashed another kill, Podolan followed with an ace, and a CMS attack error ended the marathon set, 31-29. 

CMS held a narrow 14-16 lead in the third set, but the Eagles set their sights on another sweep. An error and a kill from Muth tied things up. The Athenas took the next point on a block before an error, a block by Williams and Podolan, two kills from Podolan, and another from Christy put JC ahead 21-17. CMS would only score three more points, and with the score at 24-20, Christy sent the Eagles on their way with her eighth kill of the night.

Juniata heads back home unblemished so far this season at 9-0 and on a 36-game winning streak from last September. 

Juniata will take on John Carroll (noon) and Muhlenberg (5:00) next Saturday at Memorial Gymnasium.