Juniata women’s volleyball takes first two sets but falls in five to California (Pa.)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Juniata College women's volleyball looked like it was in command of California University of Pa. through two sets, but a third winning set proved elusive and the Eagles fell to California, 3-2, Tuesday night at the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center.

Set scores for Cal were 18-25, 20-25, 25-15, 27-25, and 15-12.

Junior pin hitter Kelsey Fuller (Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion) paced the Juniata (16-6) attack with 15 kills on 45 swings while freshman middle Courtney Lydick (McKean, Pa./General McLane) and junior middle Ashley Schnader (Reinholds, Pa./Garden Spot) each finished with 14 terminations.

Juniata hit .159 for the match – much of that coming in the first set, when the Eagles blistered the Vulcans with a .441 attack percentage. Schnader and sophomore outside hitter Amy Miller (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) logged four kills each in the opening set and combined to hit .462 from the left antenna. Defensively, the Eagles held the Vulcans in check with 16 digs, while Cal aided the Juniata cause with five attack errors and three service errors.

The Eagles captured set two, thanks largely to the Vulcans' .081 hitting performance. Lydick put away five kills in the set, including set point on the heels of a Fuller sideout kill. A five-point run by the Eagles, who were down 15-14 at the time, spun the score in Juniata's favor with a 19-15 lead, with Lydick, Fuller, and Schnader all logging kills during the run.

Cal's net game started to become a factor in the third set, as the Vulcans charted 5.0 total team blocks in the frame.  Chelsea Wilson and Kelly Fromknecht had four and three block assists respectively, while outside hitter Molly Delaney pounded out five kills as Cal hit .303 for the set.

Juniata turned in a -.045 hitting performance in the third set, with Schander's three kills on five swings leading the Eagles offensively.

The Vulcans carried their momentum into the fourth and fifth sets, recording 16 kills on a .185 hitting percentage to Juniata's 15 terminations on a .137 attack clip in the fourth. Cal narrowly outhit Juniata in the fifth as well, where the Eagles fell behind on a pair of early three-point runs.

California finished with 12.5 total blocks to Juniata's 4.0. 

Libby Morrison (Portland, Ore./Oregon Episcopal School) paced Juniata with 30 digs, leading a quartet of players with double-digit dig totals. Courtney Greensberg (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers) logged 48 assists at the helm of the Eagle offense.

California was led by Delaney with 17 kills, while Meghan Franz had 14 and Wilson logged 11.  Wilson and Fromknecht each had seven total blocks for the Vulcans.

Juniata remains at home for its next match on Tuesday, Oct. 13, when it hosts Penn State Altoona. Match start time is 7:00 p.m.

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