BETHLEHEM, Pa.- Eastern University Volleyball advanced to the top bracket at the Grayhound Invitational at Moravian College with a pair of wins. The No. 12 Eagles used an overpowering offensive game to push past Ursinus and had a more difficult test in a four set win against a solid Carroll University team from Wisconsin.

"We did a good job of imposing our offense on Ursinus," Birtwistle noted, "they stayed with us a bit in game one but we continued to do good things to wear them down." Rikki Schlager recorded 35 assists as the Eagles hit a sizzling .425 with 40 kills and only six hitting errors. 

Alicia Weigel recorded a team-best 10 kills. First year middle hitter Michelle Paulsen recorded eight kills on only 11 hitting attempts. Rylie Haas led the Eastern defense with 14 digs.

Birtwistle was pleased with his team's work against Carroll. He noted that the team had been focusing through the week on making smart choices while hitting, and Carroll played good defense and provided a good test for his team. "We still will need significant improvement, he noted, but we all can see the potential to be really good is there."

The Eagles won the first set, before dropping the second by an identical 25-21 score. The Eagles struggled in their hitting in the second set (.026), but bounced back with solid percentages in the third and fourth sets.

Erin Hillman continues to be a tremendous weapon hitting from both the right and theleft side of the court. She again led the Eagles in kills with 14. The senior outside hitter is hitting .441 with a team-high 36 kills through three matches.

Birtwistle identified Schlagers efforts at moving the ball to different spots and on defense. The senior All-American finished with 40 assists and 12 digs. Haas finished with 28 digs.

With the two wins, the Eagles move into the top bracket tomorrow morning. They will play Dickinson at 10 AM and Stevens Tech at noon.