Eastern University Volleyball used solid defense and several strong service rotations to earn a convincing three set win at DeSales University. Courtney Reinhold led the Eagles with 14 kills and 17 digs as Eastern's young team beat the defending champs and secured the top spot in the Freedom Conference playoffs.
Eastern, ranked 24th in the most recent AVCA national coaches poll, came out with tremendous intensity and jumped to the early lead in the first set. Eastern hit just .233 in the first set, but time after time the Bulldogs scrambled to keep the ball in play. Mary Poole put together a pair of strong runs at the service line as the visitors cruised to a 25-9 win.
Eastern again jumped to a lead in the second set, but DeSales earned several points in service to level the second set at 22-22 and energize their vocal supporters. Mandy Platt and Kara Hildebrand, the two true veterans on the Eastern squad, put up a big block and gave the Eagles an important side-out for the 23rd point of the set.
Platt then served for the next two points to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead in the match. Eastern hit just .237 in the second set, but time and again the Eastern defense refused to let the ball hit the floor.
Eastern Head Coach Mark Birtwistle was pleased with his team's defensive improvement, saying, "We are starting to get ourselves into the right positions without having to think about it, we are picking up balls that we weren't getting earlier in the year."
The third set began as a back and forth affair and stood tied at 11-11 when Platt and freshman setter Maria teamed up for another stuff block to give Eastern a 12-11 and put the ball into Poole's hands. Poole's aggressive serving helped the Eagles to five straight points and a decisive 17-11 lead. Hildebrand started the run with a booming kill off the right side. Platt kept the run going on a neat slide that landed just beyond the ten foot line, and Reinhold finished the run with a monstrous back-row kill.
The visiting Eagles kept the lead safe and earned a pair of points on aces to close out the match with a 25-17 third set. Poole finished the match with her third ace of the day on 28 service attempts. Birtwistle said of Poole, "She is doing a great job not letting teams get into system. She puts pressure on them while giving our hitters a chance to attack."
Platt and Nicole Burns each had seven kills. Platt added three aces, four blocks, and error-free passing in her typical well-rounded game. Burns put away her seven kills on just ten attempts.
Horning, who is ranked nationally in assists per set, continued to run the Eastern attack with veteran poise. She finished the day with 31 assists, 8 digs, and 4 kills. The Eagles have one more Conference game to play next week, but they have wrapped up the top spot in the Tournament.
Coach Birtwistle and his squad host York College and Widener this Saturday. York is the only team to extend the Eagles to a fifth set this year.
