Women's Volleyball Opens Season with Tight Victory at Swarthmore

SWARTHMORE, PA- Juniata women's volleyball opened their 2025 campaign with a 3-2 (25-19, 18-25, 25-27, 25-16, 15-9) victory over a strong Swarthmore team at the Tarble Pavillion on Friday night. 

In set one, Swarthmore held only one lead, which came early on at 2-3. The Eagles regained the lead at 4-3, and while the Phoenixes kept it close for a while, the Eagles eventually pulled away with a 7-2 run to win the set 25-17. The final kill was made by Molly Mishinkash on an assist from Elizabeth Cleveland. 

Swarthmore began set two on the front foot, leading a 1-5 run to jump out to a 5-9 lead. The Eagles weren't going anywhere though, and won the next five consecutive points to retake the lead 10-9. The teams then traded points until the Phoenixes went on a 2-8 run to open up a larger gap on the scoreboard. The five point deficit would be too much for the Eagles to overcome that late in the set, and Swarthmore took set two 17-25.

Set three was the closest of the five in the match. After Swarthmore scored three early points, the Juniata turned it on and broke out to win eight of the following nine, giving them an 8-4 advantage. Swarthmore then regained some momentum and began to turn the tide in the set. In the midst of a 1-7 run, they regained the lead at 11-12, and extended the lead to 12-14, forcing Juniata to take a timeout. The break proved helpful for the Eagles, as they took six of the next ten points and tied the game on several occasions. Juniata then regained the lead 21-20, but Swarthmore dropped three kills and an ace to lead 21-24. A service error gave the Eagles the serve, and an Audrey Muth block brought it back to within one point, but Swarthmore found a way to sneak by, winning the set 23-25.

The fourth set looked much more promising for the Eagles, who were determined to take it to set five. An opening 8-3 burst gave the Eagles a comfortable lead from which to operate. The Eagles never went on a huge run, but consistent scoring continued to separate the gap on the scoreboard. Juniata won six of the last eight points in the set to take set five, 25-15. The final point came from Ava Gummer, assisted again by Cleveland.

The Eagles carried their momentum from set four into the tiebreaking set, winning the first three points with three strong kills. Swarthmore came within one point at 5-4, but they would never hold a lead in the set. Four kills from Muth and two service aces from Sophia Repholz led the Eagles to comfortably win set five 15-9.

Gummer led the Eagles in kills with 14, while Maggie Hayes added 13, Mishinkash added 12, Emily Farrell 11, and Muth 10. Cleveland contributed an astounding 52 assists and Repholz led with 18 digs on the night.  

The opening victory sets the Eagles off on the right foot for the 2025 campaign. They will move on to face the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons at 11:00 a.m. and the University of Massachusetts- Boston Beacons at 4:00 p.m., in a double header tomorrow. The Eagles sit at 98 consecutive wins.