ST. DAVIDS, Pa.- Eastern University Volleyball honored five senior athletes prior to this evening's final regular season home game against DeSales. The Eagles then proceeded to extend a slew of impressive streaks with a convincing three-set win over the Bulldogs (24-6, 6-1 Freedom).

The No. 4 Eagles used an impressive service game to put the Bulldogs on their heels from the start. While they only recorded a single ace in the opening set, the Eagles were able to take advantage of several soft balls coming back over after uncertain serve receptions from the visitors. The Eagles led early, but DeSales closed the gap to 15-12 on a three-point run. The visitors held the match at three points for a couple points until the Eagles went through a cycle of four straight servers who were able to earn a single point as the team was able to side out cleanly. 

With DeSales hitting .225 in the first frame, the Eagles had to earn nearly all their points. Led by Courtney Reinhold's six, Eastern recorded 18 kills in the 25-19 win.

Eastern opened up an early lead in the second set and built on it through the set. Kelly Groff recorded 11 of her match-high 21 assists in the second set to help limit the Bulldogs to a negative hitting percentage for the set. Not only did the Eastern defense limit the Bulldog's attack, but the quality of the passing was such that the offense was able to attack off tips and attacks.

Eastern took the second set 25-16. 

Maria Horning started the third set with two straight aces. The Eagles held a 7-4 edge when Reinhold took the ball to serve for the first time in the set. On her first jump-serve a diving DeSales defender passed the ball right to the tape for an easy kill by Katrina Pisch. Her next three serves hit the ground. With the run of three in a row, Reinhold reached the 200 mark for her career. The three-time All-American is working toward some other round numbers as well. With her 16 kills this evening, she is now 60 kills short of 2000, and she is 80 digs short of 1500. 

Reinhold's service run continued until the Eagles held a commanding 13-4 lead. Eastern won the third set 25-10 with the final point coming on yet another Reinhold ace.

As if to show that the younger generation can play as well sophomore Kearby Benak, and first-years Lauren Sproles and Katrina Pisch each had seven kills in support of their older teammates. 

The win is the 20th in a row for the Eagles (26-1, 7-0). Their only loss of the year came at #2 Emory in September. The senior class has played a major role in extending several streaks. The longest streak runs back to 1999, which was the last time an Eastern volleyball team lost a regular season conference match. That streak is now at 107 matches. 

The second streak dates back to 2008, when a group of freshmen helped a team that had scuffled a bit the year before to a 35-2 season. On Oct. 3rd of that year, the Eagles lost in three at Augustana College. That was the last time Eastern Volleyball lost to a team outside the AVCA top 25. That string is at 102 matches.

The win tonight secured the top seed in the Freedom Conference Championship for the Eagles. The Eagles travel to Washington University, the site of this year's NCAA Championships, for a final tournament. They will play the host Bears, who are ranked third, in their second match on Friday.

Maria Horning was a little emotional following the evening.

"It's a bittersweet feeling," she said, "My roommate Bethany gave me this quote, 'There is a path which is gone forever, but there is a future which is still our own.' That's an exciting thought."