HUNTINGDON, Pa.– Eastern University Volleyball dropped a tough four-set match to the host and No. 10 Juniata College Eagles in the opening match of the Wid Guisler Invitational. Alicia Weigel led the Eagles with 18 kills.

Eastern (21-5) trailed 18-15 in the first set before clawing back to tie the score at 19-19. The two teams traded points all the way to 23-23, and Eastern had an opportunity to grab the first set after a kill by Stephanie Elechko. Juniata earned a sideout and scored a point on serve to gain the upper hand. The hosts won the first set, 27-25. Juniata hit .273 in the first set. Eastern hit .233.

While both teams were effective in the sideout game through the first set, the second set was full of runs. Eastern built a 14-10 lead on four straight points only to lose the lead when Juniata answered with five straight points. Eastern then grabbed the lead back with four straight points. Morgan Kline capped that run with an ace. The two teams traded sideouts until Eastern ended the set with another run four-straight points. Weigel ended the set with an ace.

Weigel had five of her kills in the second set as Eastern hit a stunning .385 in the frame. Eastern had 11 kills and just one error in the 25-19 win.

The host Juniata Eagles jumped to a big lead while hitting .385 in the third set. The Eagles were unable to stem the run and fell, 25-15.

Eastern trailed, 24-19, in the fourth set before making a late surge to cut the deficit to 24-23. Juniata was able to end the match with a sideout.

"I thought we played well as a team tonight," Head Coach Mark Birtwistle said after the match.  "Our serve-receive was good. That allowed us to have some quality swings. For short stretches we gave up some passes that led to Juniata points. We will look to build on the positive moments of this match."

Rylie Haas led the Eastern defense with 19 digs. Weigel and Elechko each added 13. Michelle Paulsen chipped in with seven kills and five blocks. With her five blocks tonight, Paulsen is one block short of the second spot on Eastern's single-season block list. She is 21 blocks short of Kate Adams' record 152 set in 2002.

Juniata hit .204 in the match. It is the first time this year that a team has hit over .200 against the Eastern defense.  They are just the tenth opponent to hit over .100. Eastern hit .158.

The Eagles will have only a few hours to prepare for another big match. They will take on the No. 7 Emory University Eagles at 2 pm tomorrow.