(Posted September 10, 2011)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Juniata College women's volleyball completed play at the 2011 ASICS Invitational with a 3-1 win over Transylvania University, clinching the tournament title on Saturday night at the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center.

Set scores for the Eagles were 25-19, 21-25, 25-21, and 25-15.

Ninth-ranked Juniata (4-2) hit just .195 for the match, but held Transylvania to just .120 hitting including a sub-.100 attack percentage in two of the four sets. The Eagles finished off the visiting Pioneers with 12 service aces, led by sophomore pin hitter Rachelle Wiegand (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) with four.

Four Eagles had double-digit point matches, led by freshman Cat Scholl (Austin, Texas/St. Michael's Catholic) with 13 kills on 32 swings with a pair of aces, while junior middle Ashley Schnader (Reinholds, Pa./Garden Spot) had 12 kills and hit .524 for the match to finish with 12.5 points.

Wiegand finished with six kills on two blocks on her way to 11.5 points, while both sophomore outside hitter Amy Miller (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) and senior middle Amanda Schmidt (Boswell, Pa./North Star) had eight kills each.

Setter Courtney Greenberg (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers) recorded 40 assists while guiding the Juniata offense. Senior libero Libby Morrison (Portland, Ore./Oregon Episcopal School) spun up 21 digs, part of Juniata's tally of 67 digs on the night.

After trading the first two sets to open the match, Juniata rallied to take the third set thanks to a four-point run to end the match. Schmidt broke a 21-21 tie with a sideout killm and Wiegand aced the subsequent serve to put Juniata in front 23-21. Another Schmidt kill and a Transylvania service error ended the set.

Transylvania looked like they might force a decisive fifth set based on their play early in the fourth frame, rattling off four straight points on Erin Hoffmann's service including a pair of points on Juniata errors. That knotted the set at 7-7, before a sideout service error allowed the Eagles to take an 8-7 advantage. A Miller ace and a bad set by the Pioneers extended the Eagles' lead to 10-7, and Juniata maintained a comfortable margin the rest of the way.

Five straight points with Morrison serving for the Eagles resulted in a 24-13 Juniata lead, effectively putting the set and match beyond reach. A Schnader kill three plays later allowed Juniata to clinch the win.

In Juniata's first match of the day, Franklin & Marshall (1-4) did not manage to get out of the teens on the scoreboard while the Eagles brought home the 3-0 win. Set scores for Juniata over Franklin & Marshall were 25-13, 25-15, 25-14.

Juniata had 44 kills on 83 swings, and posted a .410 hitting percentage. The Eagles also registered a eight serving aces against the Diplomats, a season high, until surpassed later in the day against Transylvania.

Miller tallied a team-high 10 kills on 19 total attacks for a .474 hitting percentage, and served up a team-high three aces.

Greenberg set 37 assists for Juniata, while Morrison tallied 15 digs and led Juniata to a 38-25 digs advantage over Franklin & Marshall.

Diplomats' junior outside hitter Kerry Rom had six kills in the match and swung for a .417 hitting percentage. Caitlin Krutsick, a junior setter, tallied the most assists of the Diplomats with 18.

Juniata controlled much of the match, only allowing Franklin & Marshall to tie the score four times and never gaining the lead. In the first set, the teams battled back-and-forth for control of the set, but with a score of 5-4 Juniata halted the Diplomats by going on a seven point scoring run. Juniata continued to pull away from Franklin & Marshall and ended the set on a Wiegand kill from Greenberg.

The second set began just like the first, but Juniata poured it on early and froze the Diplomats at two points for eight serves. Schnader brought it to set-point with a service ace. The Eagles clinched the set win on a Franklin & Marshall attack error in the next serve.

The Eagles outdid themselves in the third set with a nine point run during Greenberg's serving turn giving Juniata a 9-0 competitive advantage. The Diplomats were not able to close the score gap by any more than six throughout the remainder of the set. Miller brought the match to set-point on a Kill from Greenberg, and the Eagles ended the contest with a kill from freshman middle hitter Kelci Scannapieco (York, Pa./Eastern York).

Juniata was represented by three players on the All-Tournament team, led by Morrison who took MVP honors. Miller and Greenberg also earned a spot on the All-Tournament team, joined by Randolph-Macon's Mallory Carter and Transylvania's Rachel D'Agnillo and Katie Ash.

Juniata next travels to Clarion University on Tuesday, Sept. 13, with a 7:00 pm start.

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Click here to watch Juniata ASICS Invitational Highlights.

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