Women's Volleyball Sweeps Royals, Quiets the Quack of Ducks, now 22-0 on the Year

BETHLEHEM, Pa.- The #1 Juniata women's volleyball team picked up a pair of wins on the road at the University of Scranton, as they toppled the Royals 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-18) in Landmark Conference play and bested Stevens Institute of Technology 3-1 (25-16, 22-25, 25-16, 25-19), Saturday afternoon at the John Long Center. 

In the match against Scranton, Mackenzie Coley led the way with 13 kills (.444), three aces, a dig, two solo blocks, and a block assist. Kiona Sky Rousset-Hernandez contributed 14 digs, two assists, and two aces, while Courtney Williams tallied seven kills, a dig, three solo blocks, and two block assists.  

In the second match of the day, early in set one at 3-3, the Eagles ran out eight of the next 10 of the next 12 points to open up a 14-5 lead that they nursed the rest of the way. An Olivia Foley dump ended set one, 25-16. 

The Ducks jumped out to a 3-8 lead early in the second before several errors, two Lily Podolan kills, another from Williams, and a block by Sophia Repholz and Audrey Muth tied things at 10. The teams traded points from there, with Stevens using a late four-point surge to lead 18-23. Kills from Podolan and Ava Gummer and a Stevens error brought JC within two, 21-23, but they got no closer as the Eagles dropped set two, 22-25, the first set they dropped since the John Carroll match back on September 23^rd.  

The second set was tight most of the way, with the Ducks hanging around down three late, 17-14. Kills from Muth and Rousset Hernandez pushed the lead to five; the Ducks got one back before Coley dropped two straight kills to make it 22-15. A service error momentarily stopped the Eagle run, but JC took the final three points to take set three, 25-16. 

Juniata trailed early again in the fourth, 9-12, before again capitalizing on several Duck errors, a kill and ace from Coley, and a block by Williams and Muth to retake the lead at 15-12. It was even the rest of the way as the Eagles kept the Ducks at bay the rest of the way to win the match, 25-19.

The Eagles got another dominant display from their middles as Coley tallied 18 kills (.342) to go with an ace, a solo block, and a block assist. Williams had ten kills (.471) to go with two block assists. Foley totaled 44 assists, four kills, an ace, nine digs, and a block assist. 

The Eagles return home to play Goucher this Friday at 7:00.