GALLOWAY, N.J. - Eastern Volleyball beat local rival Cabrini College 3-0 to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Erin Hillman tallied a match-high nine kills to lead the Eagles into the second round for the eighth consecutive year.

The Eagles hit .255 and held the CSAC Champion Cavaliers to a .049 hitting percentage in the decisive three set win. Head Coach Mark Birtwistle is now 14-2 in his career in NCAA First Round games. The Eagles have won 14 in-a-row dating back to 2001.

In the opening set Eastern (29-7) fell behind 6-2, but Kaitlyn Gochenaur tallied three straight kills, and the Eagles outscored the Cavaliers 23-6 to win 25-12. Six different Eagles recorded kills and the team hit .333 in the set. Michelle Paulsen was part of a pair of blocks. Aggressive serving and the Eastern block limited the Cavaliers' ability to generate an attack. Cabrini hit a negative number in the opening frame.

The Eagles fell behind 4-0 in the second but Hillman tallied back-to-back kills to spark a 4-0 run to tie the match at four. Eastern extended the lead to 10-6 before the Cavaliers rallied back to cut the deficit to 11-10. Only twice in the set were the Cavaliers able to earn a sideout on the first serve by an Eastern player. The Eagles were able to be more efficient in the side-out game and took the second set 25-18.

"Serving is paramount this time of year, " Birtwistle said after the match. "Sideout and score two is an actual drill we play. Earning points on serve and relying on efficient siding out is so important." Paulsen and Rylie Haas each finished the match with a pair of aces, but the aces only tell part of the story. The Cavaliers struggled to find offensive rhythm. The Eagles, on the other hand, passed effectively and kept the Cavaliers from generating runs.

In the third set, the Cavaliers jumped out to a 4-1 lead, before the the Eagles used a 6-1 run to take a 12-7 lead and never looked back. The Eagles claimed the third set 25-16. Stephanie Elechko had two kills and a block in the final four points of the match.

Hillman, a senior opposite, moved into the starting line-up this evening for defensive purposes. With her match-best nine kills tonight, she has 101 career kills and has hit .309 in ten NCAA Regional contests. She also had five digs and an ace tonight.

Haas finished with a match-high 16 digs and Rikki Schlager was credited with 27 assists.

Eastern will play Stockton University at 5 pm tomorrow. The host Ospreys beat Gallaudet in three sets in the final match of the evening.