3-0 Win Over Eastern Secures Volleyball Tourney Title
(Posted October 22, 2005)
Juniata 3, Carnegie Mellon 0
Juniata 3, Eastern 0
Huntingdon, Pa. ? Another weekend, another tournament title for the Juniata College women?s volleyball team as the Eagles earned 3-0 wins over Carnegie Mellon University and Eastern University to claim the championship of the ?Wid? Guisler Invitational in Huntingdon Saturday afternoon. The victories gave Juniata a 4-0 record in the tournament, and a 28-1 mark on the year.
Juniata earned the title with its 3-0 win over 21st-ranked Eastern in the tournament finale. Juniata earned the match by game scores of 30-16, 30-22, 30-23.
The Eagles were in control throughout the match as the only deficit the home team faced was a 1-0 hole at the start of game one.
Three players finished in double figures in kills on the match, with Katie Laucks (West York/York) leading the way with 13. Rachael Schatz (West Perry/Elliotsburg) and Amber Thomas (Conestoga Valley/Ephrata) added 12 and 10 kills respectively.
Jessica Ritchey (Greencastle-Antrim/Greencastle) finished with 42 assists in the match, and directed Juniata to a .331 hitting percentage as a team. Juniata?s defense then held Eastern to a .058 hitting percentage. Tara McMinn (Huntingdon/Huntingdon) and Kristi Fitzsimmons (Diamond Ranch/Pomona, Ca.) both finished with 11 digs, while McMinn also notched a team-best four aces. Stephanie Kines (Towson/Towson, Md.) had a team-high four blocks.
Following the match, Laucks, Thomas and Kines were all named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Eagles opened the day with a 30-17, 33-31, 30-26 win over Carnegie Mellon
Juniata?s toughest challenge of the day came in game two against the Tartans as Carnegie Mellon jumped out to an early lead, and remained in control for most of the game. Juniata trailed by four 24-20 late in the game, but used a five-point run sparked by two kills from Laucks to move in front 25-24. The teams exchanged points from there, with the home team getting three late kills from Schatz to earn three game points, and then closing the game with back-to-back kills from Laucks.
Schatz led all players as she pounded out a career-high 22 kills in the victory, while hitting an impressive .514. Laucks was also in double figures with 17 finishes.
Ritchey finished with a season-high 59 assists in the contest, and helped direct the Eagles to a .358 team hitting percentage. McMinn finished with 10 digs and a team-high three serve aces. Fitzsimmons was tops on the team with 11 digs. Schatz led Juniata?s net defense with three blocks.
The other members of the All-Tournament team were Catie Fisher of Carnegie Mellon, Emma Klein of Eastern and Katya Khmelnitskya, Elena Drinka and Jennifer Gardikas of New York University.
Juniata will be back in action on Tuesday night with a Commonwealth Conference match against Elizabethtown in Huntingdon.
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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.