Eastern University Volleyball used outstanding defense and a dramatic late run to beat the #5 Christopher Newport University Captains (25-2) in a four set match in St. Davids. The #6 Eagles rallied from a 23-19 deficit in the fourth set to end the match with a 25-23 set win. Courtney Reinhold had four kills and a block assist in the last five points.
The opening set began poorly for the Eagles, as they fell 12-7 following a run of attack and serving errors. Eastern battled back and finally took the lead at 20-19. Strong service from Kellee Stonsifer helped the home side to close out the first set 25-20. The key to the comeback, however, was not in the attack, but came as the Eagles refused to let the ball hit the ground. Time and again, it seemed that the visiting captains were going to take a point with a big kill or well-placed tip, but the Eastern defense scrambled to keep plays alive.
Kelly Groff led the way with six digs in the opening set, and Nikki Kummerer added three, including a pair of spectacular point-savers.
"Coach told us ahead of time what they were looking to do," Kummerer said after the match," and I just move off of Kelly [Groff]. She's such an awesome defender. She makes it easy to play." Groff finished with a match-best 21 digs, and Kummerer added 13.
The Eagles hit just .125 in the opening set, but the defense was good enough, and they served well enough to overcome the offensive woes. Rachel Wenger put down three kills on six swings.
"We learned a lot from the Juniata game," Kummerer commented, "rather than look at the total number, we look into each others eyes and commit to focus on just the next point. Each of us takes initiative to help find that focus."
That focus was apparent in the second set, as the Eagles opened up a 12-10 lead on with two earned points on Maria Horning's serve and played effective side-out volleyball to a 25-21 finish.
"Our game goes as our passing goes," Horning said after the match, "We passed really well in the sets we won, and our defense was awesome." The numbers back up Horning's feelings about the second set. the Eagles hit .342 in the second set. Reinhold and Wenger each put away four kills in the set.
The visitors showed their quality with a decisive 25-19 win in the third set. Caitlyn Jansen and Chelsea McClure each put down five kills in the set for Captains. Christopher Newport jumped to an 8-4 lead early, and the Eagles were never able to gain ground.
The final set looked to be going the same way as the Captains broke a 16-16 tie with four of five points, and eventually led 23-19. Horning and Reinhold, Eastern's two junior All-Americans then made a series of plays to take the game.
"I think we learned from the Juniata game to avoid playing safe," Horning commented when asked about the final rally, "We trust each other, we look each other in the eye and say we can do it."
In an ironic twist, Horning was perhaps the most effective Eastern hitter on the evening. The junior setter, who was not allowed to jump for the past ten days or so to rest an injury. Found holes in the CNU defense on eight of 15 attempts. A couple of those attempts were full out swings.
"Our hitters were banging away," Horning commented, "(I'm sorry my adrenaline is still going)and so their defense kept dropping back, so I had to tip to the hole, and as they started coming forward to play the tip, then I started pushing balls to the corners." Not as many of the balls to the corners hit the floor, but several of those hits took the visitors out of system and gave the Eagles a chance to receive a an easier attack.
Despite a slow start, Reinhold finished with 19 kills and 12 digs, and Rachel Wenger put down ten balls. Jansen led the way with 13 kills for CNU. For the Eagles, the win is the third this year over a team ranked 5th in the country.
