Eagles Dominate, Win Six of Seven Sets in Doubleheader

SPRINGFIELD, OH- The Juniata women's volleyball team bounced back with two convincing wins at the Wittenburg Invitational on Saturday. The victories over Transylvania University and Ohio Northern University came by scores of 3-0 and 3-1, respectively. 

At 11:00 a.m., the Eagles faced the Pioneers of Transylvania in the Pam Evans Smith Arena. 

The Eagles controlled this match with an opening 7-2 run that set the tone from the get-go. After the Pioneers brought the lead down to three, the Eagles went on another run in the middle of the set to take the lead to its highest point, up 18-9. At 20-12, the Pioneers began to make things interesting, taking nine of the following 13 points. At 24-20 though, the Eagles had four opportunities to win the set, and found a timely kill on their fourth attempt from Ava Gummer. The Eagles took set one, 25-23. 

Set two was the closest and longest set the Eagles played on the day, and it was largely defined by bursts of consecutive points won. A 0-4 run put the Eagles behind early, but a 5-0 run followed to give them a one point lead at 12-11, about halfway through the set. A 0-4 run followed that, however, and the Pioneers had regained their lead. From there, the Eagles slowly inched their way back into the game, staying in position to regain the lead just in time to win the set. The game was tied at 23, 24, and 25 points each before the Eagles ultimately came up clutch on the last three points to win the set 28-26. The final point came from a Pioneers attack error.

The Eagles looked to close the game out in set three, and opened the set well enough to do so. This set stayed close for a while, with ten separate ties coming within the first 24 points. At 12-12, A 4-1 run by the Eagles was followed by a 0-4 run by the Pioneers, which was then followed by another 4-0 run, this time for the Eagles again. This brought the game to 20-17, Juniata. From there, the Eagles never conceded the lead and were able to see out the victory. Gummer called game on the final point, marking a 25-21 set three win.

Gummer's 11 kills led the Eagles, with 32 assists from Elizabeth Cleveland and 25 digs from Isabella Rushing commanding the back court. 

At 4:00 p.m., the Eagles took down the Ohio Northern University Polar Bears 3-1.

Match statistics are TBA from the hosts Wittenburg University.

Gummer's performance on the weekend earned her an all-tournament selection, as the Eagles will move on to host Christopher Newport University next Friday night at 7:00 p.m.in the second match of the Wid Guisler Invitational.