Eagles Set to Host Royals in Landmark Conference Championship
HUNTINGDON, Pa. - Juniata is the #2 team in Division III volleyball following the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll amidst a 20-game winning streak and a 27-1 overall record. They vie for their 15th consecutive Landmark Conference title and 41st consecutive conference championship overall. The University of Scranton looks to capitalize on a 6-1 conference record that landed the Royals in the championship match for the second consecutive season and the fourth time in program history.
Tickets are seven dollars for adults, four for seniors and students without ID; children under 10 are free. Faculty, staff, and students get in free with their gold card.
Juniata ranks among the best teams in DIII in several offensive and defensive categories. As a team, the Eagles hold the 10th-best hitting percentage (.254), the sixth-highest kills per set rate (13.66), and the ninth-best assists per set rate (12.33). Defensively, the Eagles have kept the lowest opponent-hitting percentage (.055).
Mackenzie Coley enters tonight with a Landmark Conference-high .386 hitting percentage that puts her 19th best in DIII. Kiona Sky Rousset-Hernandez has a team-best 469 digs and the second-best digs per set rate in the Landmark Conference (5.27 D/S). Olivia Foley's 10.25 assists per set (642 total) is a conference-high figure and the eighth-best rate in DIII women's volleyball. Lily Podolan and Audrey Muth lead Juniata in kills with 268 and 258, respectively. Both sit in the top ten in the conference for kills.
Scranton has kept opponent offensives to a .142 hitting percentage, the fourth-best mark in the Landmark Conference, and allowed the second-fewest opponent kills per set (10.23). They average the second-most assists per set with 11.21 per set.
Carah Viktus has the third-highest kills per set rate in the Landmark Conference entering play (3.47 per set), and her 361 kills lead Scranton. Maddie Forry enters with the third-best rate for digs per set (5.25, 596 total). Sophia Hadjiyane has the team's best hitting percentage at .259, with 201 kills and the most blocks at 69. Stephanie Margolies has the most service aces for the Royals with 53 and the second-most kills with 302.
Both teams are regionally ranked in the most recent NCAA Region V rankings, with Juniata on top at #1 and Scranton at #6.
The Eagles are 37-2 against the Royals, with the last Scranton victory coming in the 2017 regular season match as Scranton took a 3-2 victory. The 2022 match saw Juniata take a 3-1 victory (25-19, 25-18, 23-25, 25-17) at the neutral site of Moravian in late October.