Eagles Sweep Diplomats

LANCASTER, PA- The #9 Juniata women's volleyball team conquered the Franklin & Marshall University Diplomats in a 3-0 sweep on the road Thursday night. 

The match began in a three-point burst for the Eagles, but the Diplomats quickly closed the gap and found the first tie of the match at 7-7. After the teams traded several points, the Diplomats gained the first lead narrowly at 10-11. From this point on, neither team could really separate from the other on the scoreboard. A 2-6 run gave the Diplomats a three-point edge late, 19-22, but the Eagles won the deciding points in a 6-1 run to finish the set. The Diplomats' attack error clinched the final point for the Eagles, giving them a 25-23 edge in set one.

Set two was much more convincingly controlled by Juniata. In a set which they never trailed, their first notable run of points came in a 5-1 burst which saw them leading 11-6. 3-0 and 4-0 runs later in the set helped increase their lead to nine at 19-10, the largest lead they had gained in the set at that point. At 20-12 though, the Eagles finished the set on another convincing run, this time winning five consecutive points. Sophia Repholz closed out the set with a service ace, 25-12.

The third and final set was closely contested, and the first separation on the scoreboard came through a small 7-4 edge for Juniata after winning four of five points early on. The Eagles had slowly but surely maintained a lead this set, with no real run of points coming until the Diplomats closed the gap to two at 15-13. At that point, seven consecutive points were won by the Eagles. This run seemed defiant, although the Diplomats quickly brought the lead down to three, with a 1-6 run of their own in response. Up 22-19, the Eagles needed three more points before the Diplomats won five, and they wasted no time. A 3-0 close-out run ended with a service ace from Isabella Rushing, and the Eagles took set three, 25-19.

Ava Gummer was a consistent force on the outside for the Eagles with 11 kills while Molly Mishinkash tallied nine of her own. Elizabeth Cleveland made 29 assists, and Rushing added 24 digs on the night. Repholz added six aces and seven digs. 

The Eagles will enter a break in their schedule before opening up conference play on the road next Friday night at 6:00 p.m. when they face the Drew University Rangers.