Taylor Leads Eagles Past Diplomats
LANCASTER, Pa.-The Juniata women’s volleyball team took down the Diplomats of Franklin & Marshall, 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-21), Friday evening at the Mayser Center.
LANCASTER, Pa.-The Juniata women's volleyball team took down the Diplomats of Franklin & Marshall, 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-21), Friday evening at the Mayser Center.
Juniata got out to a quick start as they went up 8-3, which forced a quick Diplomat timeout. F&M found some rhythm and battled their way back at 12-11. The teams continued to go back and forth as JC couldn't build a lead larger than three. Two straight points from F&M pulled them back within one at 21-20. Juniata called timeout, and took control the rest of the way. Two kills from Victoria Taylor (Middletown, Del. / Delaware Military Academy) and another from Morgan Edwards (Lancaster, Pa. / Penn Manor) got them two set point before a Diplomat attack error ended set one, 25-20.
Set two saw F&M take their first lead of the match early in the second set, 4-5. JC quickly rattled off five straight points to regain the advantage. Marybeth Weihbrecht (Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Cumberland Valley) put down two kills, Marie Gonsar (New Castle, Pa. / Shenango H.S.) tallied a kill and two errors from F&M made it 9-5 as the Diplomats called time out. The home team got within three a few more times, but Juniata incrementally added to their lead. Two errors from the host wound up ending set two in favor of the Eagles, 25-16. Juniata had their best hitting percentage in the second set, .345.
The Diplomats came out strong to open the third set as they staked themselves a 5-9 lead. A 7-0 surge from the Eagles helped them retake the lead. A block from Moira Folan and Weihbrecht started the run with a block followed by a kill from later, an ace from Gonsar a kill and a kill from Taylor. Another block from Weihbrecht and Folan followed by a kill and a solo block from Taylor made it 13-9. The Diplomats closed within two three more times, but each Juniata had a response. A kill from Dejia Danhi (Ashburn, Va. / Stone Bridge) gave JC set point, and two points later a F&M service error closed the match.
Taylor hit .650 for the match, which is the 10th best hitting percentage in a single match in program history.
Juniata will face Messiah at the R-MC Invitational at Randolph-Macon, next Friday at 5:00.