Women’s Volleyball Splits on Final Day of ASICS Invitational

HUNTINGDON, PA. – The Juniata women's volleyball team hosted the second and last day of competition at the ASICS Invitational held at Memorial Gymnasium. In the first match of the day, the Eagles defeated Carnegie Mellon 3-1.

Juniata settled in early against the Tartans, winning the first set 25-15. Mar-Jana Phillips (Carson, Calif. / Rolling Hills Preparatory) led the set with four kills and nine total attacks. Also in that frame, Nakita Gearhart (Waynesboro, Pa. / Greencastle-Antrim) recorded a .800 hitting percentage with four kills and five total attacks.

In set two, Juniata held a 11-7 lead before CMU battled back to gain and maintain the lead. CMU won the set and tied the match at one set a piece.

The back-and-forth battle in set three was similar to set two. However, there was a different outcome. Tied at 24-24, Gearhart marked a kill to put the Eagles at set point. Juniata then followed up with another kill to take set three.

Juniata took set four, and the game, with a score of 25-18. Overall, the Eagles totaled 66 kills with Megan Moroney (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor) leading the way with 17. Gearhart added 13 kills and finished with a .524 hitting percentage. Phillips tacked on 12 kills. Kelly Reynolds (Upper Saint Clair, Pa./Upper Saint Clair) picked up 58 assists, eight digs, and two service aces. Katie Byrne (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) led the defensive effort with 19 digs while Shaina Robinett (Westchester, Pa./Leadership Charter School) added 12.

The nightcap featured a rematch of last year's NCAA Regional Final between Juniata and Wittenberg that the Tigers won 3-1. Witt got the better of JC this time also as it won 3-0.

The Eagles led 6-3 but the Tigers recovered and went on a 7-0 run to go ahead 10-6. Juniata was able to get as close as 18-16 but a 7-3 run by Wittenberg gave them a 25-19 win in the set.

The second frame was dominated by the Tigers. Juniata trailed 15-13 and the Tigers used a 10-1 to take the frame and go up 2-0 in the match.

Wittenberg looked to be on its way to an easy win in the third set but Juniata made sure that would not happen. Trailing 18-11, the Eagles used a 10-4 to close the deficit to 23-22. A kill by Christine Irwin (State College, Pa./State College) put JC within a point of tying at 24-23 but a kill by Wittenberg's Emily Kahlig was the clincher for the Tigers.

The Eagles were led on offense by Glen Brumm's (Oro Valley, Ariz./Canyon Del Oro) eight kills. Reynolds chipped in 32 assists and 11 digs while Brumm had 10 digs. Byrne led the team once again with 19 and Robinett contributed 13. Byrne and Moroney were both named to the All-Tournament Team.

Prior to the Wittenberg match, Juniata honored six members of the 2006 National Championship squad. The six, Brittany Carr Dehaven, Michelle Morchesky Damiano, Rachel Schatz, Beth Kozak Chamberlain, Amber Thomas Rieger, and Cassie Dickman, were a part the program's second championship team The Eagles overcame a 2-1 deficit to defeat Washington (Mo.) 3-2 and finished that season 41-1.

Juniata heads to Ohio next weekend to play in the Wittenberg Invitational. The Eagles take on Washington (Mo.) on Friday at 4:00 p.m.