Eastern Volleyball bounced back with a pair of victories over solid teams in Saturday action at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL. The #23 Eagles improve to 19-1 with Saturday's wins.
Eastern head Coach Mark Birtwistle was pleased with his young team's efforts for the weekend. He felt that the experience was very positive for the group and that his team showed great poise in bouncing back and playing really well on Saturday. The Eagles drew the 9:00 am game against University of Wisconsin at Platteville. It took a little time for the Eastern team to find their stride, but they still managed a 25-21 first set win.
Things started to click in the second set as the Eagles ran out to a 25-14 win. While a solid offense was important in pulling away, Birtwistle cited his team's defense at the net as a big contributing factor in the team's success for the day. "Our blocking was very good, " Birtwistle commented, " that is an area where we are improving, and it showed today." Kara Hildebrand had a solo and five assists, Mandy Platt had a solo and a pair of assists, and Nicole Burns tallied four solos and four assists at the net.
The Eagles closed the match with a 25-14 win in the third set. The offense hit .347 for the match. Courtney Reinhold led the way with eleven kills, and Hildebrand added seven kills. Maria Horning distributed 27 assists in the three-set win over the Pioneers.
The Eagles drew Coe College for their final match of the tournament. After Eastern won the first two sets, the Kohawks pushed them to a fourth set, but the Eagles earned the win behind 13 kills from Reinhold and a .316 team hitting percentage. Platt again showed her leadership with solid all-around play. The Eagles' lone senior earned All-tournament honors for the weekend as she put away eight kills on just 18 swings and picked up another pair of blocks at the net. Platt served for a pair of aces in the win as well.
Horning handed out 37 assists with four kills and an ace. Nikki Kummerer lead the Eastern defense with 21 digs.
Eastern Volleyball returns to action in the Freedom Conference at Misericordia University on Tuesday night.
