ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - Eastern Volleyball beat the visiting Misericordia Cougars 3-0 on Wednesday evening. before the match, the eastern Coaching staff honored seniors Erin Hillman, Lauren Horst, Rikki Schlager and Kaitlyn Gochenauer. The four seniors set the tone early and the Eagles secured another unbeaten conference season. Eastern Volleyball has not lost a regular season conference game since 1999.

Eastern (25-6, 7-0 MAC Freedom) dominated early. Behind aggressive serving from Hillman, the Eagles jumped to a 12-2 lead in the opening set. The Eagles scored eight of the final 11 points in the set. The Eagles hit .385 on the way to a 25-8 win.

"They have been an integral part of our program since coming in as freshmen," Head Coach Mark Birtwistle said of the seniors. "They each have a different role and they've all successfully contributed."

Eastern took an early 5-1 lead in the second set and never looked back. Misericordia (12-19, 4-3 MAC Freedom) cut the deficit to 16-10, but Eastern regained momentum and tallied nine of the final 13 points in the set to claim the win. The Eagles hit an eye-popping .419 and tallied 15 kills in the set to win 25-14.

Birtwistle went on to say, "more than their success, however, each of the girls have really bought into our program and represented EUVB to the fullest. I am very proud of each of them for their leadership, commitment, and dedication to our program."

The Cougars led 3-1 in the third set. After Eastern rallied back to take the lead, Misericordia looked as if they were going tie the set up cutting the Eagles lead to one at 7-6. The Eagles went on a 10-4 scoring run to blow the set wide open and eventually win 25-17.

Schlager lead the Eagles with three aces while Rylie Haas posted 12 digs.

Birtwistle concluded his thoughts by saying, "It was nice to see the team we will face next week to get a good idea of what they can do. Our goal is to get better everyday and be prepared to do our best once the playoffs start."

Eastern will finish its regular season with a pair of matches at Messiah College this Saturday. The Eagles will play Messiah and Lynchburg.