(Posted September 17, 2004)


Juniata 3, Washington (Mo.) 0

St. Louis, Mo. ? The Juniata College women?s volleyball team earned its biggest win of the early season as the Eagles swept past defending national champion Washington University (Mo.) 3-0 at the Second Annual Teri Clemons Invitational in St. Louis Friday night. Juniata is now 9-1 on the year, while Washington falls to 6-3.

The contest was a battle between two teams ranked in the top five of the CSTV/AVCA Division III top-25 poll. Juniata is the fourth-ranked team in the most recent poll, while Washington held down the fifth spot. On this night Juniata claimed a tight game-one win 30-28, then eased to a 30-20 win in game two, before rallying to claim a 30-28 game-three triumph. The win marked the second time in three years that Juniata has defeated Washington at the Teri Clemons Invitational?a tournament that is designed to bring together four of the top teams in NCAA Division III.

Trailing 25-23 in game one, Juniata brought Katie Charles (Manheim Township/Lancaster) off the bench, and saw the senior put-away several of her nine kills down the stretch to lead the team to the victory.

Juniata controlled game two throughout with some strong serving. The Eagles tossed in eight aces in the match, many coming in game two as they pulled away for the win.

The Eagles fell behind early again in game three, as the Bears moved in front 11-8. It would remain a three-point lead for much of the game, before some late offense from Charles and senior Erin Wisor (Altoona/Altoona) pulled the Eagles even at 22. Both seniors continued the strong play down the stretch, and Charles ended the contest with a kill for the 30-28 win.

Wisor paced the balanced Juniata offense with 10 kills. Stephanie Kines (Towson/Towson, Md.) also notched 10 kills, along with a team-high two aces and three blocks. Katie Laucks (West York/York) and Charles each posted nine finishes, and Lindsey Habel (Glen Oak/Canton, Ohio) pitched in eight finishes. Abby Leonard (Shade/Johnstown) led the defensive effort with 15 digs while Charles matched Kines with three blocks. The Eagles limited the Bears to a .232 hitting percentage in the match.

Juniata will take on two more ranked teams on Saturday on the final day of competition at the tournament. Juniata will have a rematch with third-ranked Wittenberg University at noon, followed by a match against 14th-ranked Trinity University (Tx.). Wittenberg defeated Juniata 3-2 in Huntingdon on the opening weekend of the season to hand the Eagles their only loss of the year. Juniata defeated Wittenberg and Trinity last season at the First Annual Teri Clemons Invitational last season.

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.