(Posted October 9, 2010)

KENOSHA, Wis. -- Juniata College women's volleyball team completed its two-day swing through Wisconsin with a pair of victories over ranked teams on Saturday, improving its season record to 20-3.

The Eagles began the afternoon with a 3-1 win over 16th-ranked Wisconsin-Eau Claire, winning by set scores of 23-25, 25-19, 32-30, and 25-20.

Junior outside hitter Drew Barnhart (Titusville, Pa./Titusville) tallied a season-high 17 kills on 43 swings, hitting .279 for the match. She was one of three players with double-digit kill totals; senior middle Kristin Noetzel (Closter, N.J./Northern Valley Regional) and freshman outside Rachelle Wiegand (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) each had 11 kills.

The Eagles tallied 9.0 total blocks to the Blugolds' 10, with Noetzel having a had on seven blocks including two solos. Sarah McMichael (Norristown, Pa./Methacton) was in on four of the blocks.

Freshman Courtney Greenberg (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers) set 39 assists for the Eagles, running an offense that hit with a .166 attack percentage. Junior libero Libby Morrison (Portland, Ore./Oregon Episcopal School) recorded 25 digs during the match.

The win over UW-Eau Claire in the books, Juniata then drove an hour-and-a-half to Kenosha, Wis., and defeated no. 7 Carthage College, 3-2. Set scores for the Eagles were 25-19, 19-25, 26-28, 25-15, and 15-9.

Five players hit for double-figure kills, led by Noetzel and sophomore middle Ashley Schnader (Reinholds, Pa./Garden Spot) with 14 each. Noetzel hit .417 for the match, and also had a pair of blocks. Outside hitter Amy Miller (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) and opposite Kelsey Fuller (Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion) each had 12 kills, while Wiegand finished with 10.

Senior Steph Struass (Penn Hills, Pa./Penn Hills) set the offense versus Carthage, recording 60 assists while leading Juniata to a .204 hitting percentage. Strauss and Morrison had 23 and 26 digs respectively, while Morrison and Wiegand each served up four aces.

The Eagles had to overcome a Carthage squad that outblocked Juniata, 13.0 to 5.0, and committed just 19 attack errors to the Eagles' 32. Juniata finished with 109 digs as a team, most in a match this season.

The win was also Juniata's first five-set win in exactly a year; the Eagles' last 3-2 victory was over Christopher Newport on October 9, 2009.

Juniata heads to Kings Point, N.Y., this weekend for the second of two Landmark Conference round robin weekends. The Eagles will face the University of Scranton, Moravian College, and Catholic University over the two days of competition at Mercahnt Marine's Edwin J. O'Hara Hall.

-30-

Our readers respond...

Be the first to provide a response.

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