Women's Volleyball Takes Top Seed in Conference

HUNTINGDON, PA – The Juniata women's volleyball team secured the top seed in the Landmark Conference's postseason with 3-0 victories over Scranton and USMMA Saturday. The Eagles will host No.4 Catholic Nov.4 at 7:00pm as they make the quest for nine-straight Landmark titles.

First up for the Eagles were the Scranton Royals at 11am. Juniata took the win 25-23, 25-22, 25-19. 

The match had similarities to the game Friday night against Haverford. Juniata finished with an overall .185 hitting percentage.

"The plays that you should make easily, we just weren't making," head coach Heather Pavlik said. "We made the game a little harder than it had to be. Some of it was just the team missing some serves or not taking care of down balls and tips." 

Pavlik noted that despite the team encountering some struggles, they pushed through and found a way to win in three. 

Megan Moroney (Mentor, OH / Mentor) extended her double-digit kill streak with a hitting percentage over .400 to five matches. Moroney recorded 12 kills for a .550 hitting percentage against the Royals. 

Nakita Gearhart (Waynesboro, PA / Greencastle-Antrim) followed with 11 kills on 19 attacks for a .316 hitting percentage.

Kelly Reynolds (Upper Saint Clair, PA / Upper Saint Clair) reached a career milestone against Scranton. Reynolds' 33 assists against the Royals brought her career total to 3,007, making her the ninth athlete in Juniata women's volleyball history to record at least 3,000 career assists. Carli Dale leads the all-time assists with 6,385. Pavlik holds the No.2 spot with 6,331. 

Juniata got a break before their next match as Susquehanna took on both Merchant Marine and Scranton. 

The Eagles' brought in some fresh faces to take on the Mariners as only Moroney and Brittanie Tannenbaum (Highlands Ranch, CO / Highlands Ranch) repeated as starters. Katie Thomas (Batesville, IN / Batesville), Marybeth Weihbrecht (Mechanicsburg, PA / Cumberland Valley), Lydia Mueller (Carlisle, PA / Carlisle) and Christine Irwin (State College, PA / State College) rounded out the starting lineup against USMMA.

"I thought they were fantastic," Pavlik said. "Christine Irwin was phenomenal. She's been playing like that in the practice gym so it's fun to see that translate on to the court. That was the best match that Katie Thomas has set so far and she's starting to come into her own as a player." 

Thomas finished the match with 37 assists, two service aces, four digs, one kill and one block assist. Weihbrecht finished with seven kills on 13 attempts for a .462 hitting percentage.

Irwin led the front line with 14 kills on 24 attacks for a .500 hitting percentage. Mueller followed with 12 attacks on 20 attempts and a .550 hitting percentage.

Glen Brumm (Oro Valley, AZ / Canyon Del Oro) contributed six kills on eight attacks for a .625 hitting percentage. Gearhart tacked on five kills with zero errors for a .714 hitting percentage against the Mariners. 

Sarah Wiley (Wilmington, DE / Padua Academy) led the Eagles in service aces with three. Wiley also recorded six digs.

Juniata will get another weekend at home as they host the Wid Guisler Invitational Oct. 23-24. The Eagles face Carnegie Mellon Friday night at 7:00pm. Senior Night will take place Saturday against Geneva at 6:00pm.