Women's Volleyball Sweeps Nittany Lions in NCAA First Round Matchup

HUNTINGDON, Pa.-The Juniata women's volleyball team kicked off NCAA tournament play by hosting regionals, and sweeping the Penn State Altoona Nittany Lions 3-0 on Thursday night. 

The match began with a 9-1 run by #1 seeded Eagles in a set where Altoona never led. The lead stalled as Altoona began to gain some ground in the middle of the set, but the Eagles gained their first double digit lead at 18-8. A service ace by Kennedy Christy eventually sealed the set for the Eagles, 25-12.

Set two began with a 9-2 run as the Eagles looked to build on their strong performance in set one. Kills were coming from all over the floor. Like set one, Altoona had closed the gap, this time coming within five points at 15-10, but they were never able to make a run long enough to call it a comeback. This time the Eagles took the set 25-16 with the final point coming off of an attack error by Penn State Altoona.

Set three followed the trend of the night, with the Eagles opening up a lead early. This time, the Eagle lead was doubled to 16-2 after an initial 8-1 run. The Eagles were making play after play and there was simply no route for Altoona to win the game. Juniata made nine service aces throughout the set which helped them cruise to a 25-11 set victory where Emily Sullivan sealed the final point with a kill.

Courtney Williams led the way in kills with seven (.500), although several Eagles contributed in the kills column. Olivia Foley made 25 assists, Mia Schubert added six service aces, and Kiona Sky Rousset-Hernandez made 11 digs.

The Eagles will move on to another home matchup in the Round of 32 as they host Virginia Wesleyan University for a place in the regional finals on Friday at 7:00 p.m.