Eagles Glide Past Wolverines in Round One of NCAAs
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA- The Eagles began their 2025 NCAA tournament run on Thursday afternoon against the Grove City College Wolverines, advancing with a 3-0 sweep (25-15, 25-23, 28-26).
The Eagles stepped confidently into tournament play in set one, going on a 6-0 run after splitting the first four points with the Wolverines. Two points later, the Eagles won three more points in a row to extend their lead to 11-4. The Eagles never trailed in the set, with key 3-0 and 4-0 runs seeing them through. Set one ended 25-15, with Audrey Muth making the final kill on an assist by Elizabeth Cleveland.
A 3-3 tie proved that set two would be much closer. Tying again at 5-5, 6-6, and 9-9, neither team could gain a big lead. In fact, no lead was great than two points until the Eagles soon went on a 6-1 run to go up 15-11. The lead was its largest at five, up 17-12, and despite a late 0-3 run from the Wolverines, the Eagles won four of the last five points in the set to take set two, 25-23. The final kill came again from Muth, by way of Cleveland.
Set three was the most competitive of the match, with several lead changes and extra points played. After going down 1-4, Juniata came back to tie the match 4-4. The game was tied again at 7-7, the Eagles taking a narrow lead at 9-8. At 10-10, the Eagles conceded six straight points, but responded promptly with a 5-0 run of their own. The game had tied again at 17-17, concluding a 7-1 run for the Eagles. With ties at 19-19 and 20-20, the match was coming down to the wire. Down 24-25, the Eagles won two key points before the match was tied again 26-26. From there, the Eagles found two key kills down the middle, and ultimately, it was the Eagles who came out on top, 28-26.
Muth led the match in kills with 13, while Emily Farrell added 11. Cleveland totaled 40 assists while Isabella Rushing led with 22 digs in the backcourt.
The Eagles will face Christopher Newport University in the Round of 32, at the same location tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.