The 23rd ranked Eagles volleyball team traveled to Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania to participate in the Juniata College Invitational this weekend. On the first evening of competition the Eastern Eagles walked away with a split. 

The Eagles defeated Ithaca 3-0 in their first match behind solid offensive play by Courtney Reinhold, Bridget Carey and Rachel Wenger. Reinhold delivered 11 kills, while Carey picked up nine, and Wenger notched seven. Setter Maria Horning tallied 34 assists and picked up six kills of her own. 

Eastern, however, hit a road block in the 2nd ranked Juniata College Eagles. The hosts, who defeated Dickinson earlier in the evening ended their night with a 3-0 victory over the visiting Eastern Eagles.

Eastern kept pace with Juniata for most of the first set, nearly matching them kill for kill.  Juniata emerged with a 25-19 win in the opening set. An offensive outburst by the host in the second set made the difference in the match. Juniata exploded for 17 team kills in the second set compared to Eastern's 6 and cruised to a 25-13 win. Eastern would not go quietly, but Juniata eventually pulled out the sweep in a tight third set: 25-22.

Reinhold once again paced the offense in the second game with 12 kills. Defensively, Eastern would pick up six team blocks, including two solo blocks by Mary Poole.  Christen Jansson and Carey also picked up a solo block in the nightcap.

The Eagles only have a few hours to regroup as they open up the second day of play at the Juniata Invite against Dickinson at 11:00 AM and Hiram at 1:00 PM.

Ithaca Box Score

Juniata Box Score