Eagles Topple Riverhawks, Advance to Landmark Final
HUNTINGDON, PA- The Juniata women's volleyball team swept the Susquehanna University Riverhawks on Thursday night 3-0 to secure their spot in the Landmark Conference Championship.
The semifinal matchup began at 7:00 p.m., with a close score early. The Riverhawks took a narrow lead that lasted until they led 5-6, and the Eagles went on a 9-0 run in the middle of the set. That run established an eight-point lead, which grew to as large as 10 as the Eagles concluded a 4-0 run up 22-12 late. On set point, Maggie Hayes made a kill to clinch the set for the Eagles, 25-16.
Set two saw the Riverhawks take another narrow lead early, with yet another response from Juniata. Down 1-4, the Eagles won seven of the next eight points. Up 8-5, the Eagles pushed their advantage with consistent scoring, including three separate 3-0 runs in the remainder of the set. The last of which came on the final point, where Susquehanna commited an attack error to close set two, 25-18.
The Eagles were going for the sweep in set three, but it wasn't going to come easy. Susquehanna took an early lead again, but kept it close this time despite an 8-1 run from Juniata. The most notable run of the night for the Riverhawks came late in set three, where they won five points in a row to put the Eagles down 20-21. After a timeout, the Eagles found their rhythm at the key moment, winning five of the last six points in the set. With a 25-22 scoreline, the Eagles secured the sweep and clinched their spot in the Landmark Championship match.
Audrey Muth and Molly Mishinkash stepped up again for the Eagles, leading with 14 and 13 kills respectively. Elizabeth Cleveland totaled 43 assists and Isabella Rushing added 12 digs, showing strong backcourt play as well.
As the number one seed, the Eagles will host Scranton University on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. in the championship match in what should be a close contest, as the Eagles edged by the Royals 3-2 earlier in the season.