ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Volleyball (22-5) opened the final regular-season weekend of the year with a convincing four-set win over the visiting York College Spartans (17-8). The Eagles hit .479 in the first two sets and held off a York rally in the fourth to earn their 22nd win of the season.

Top Performers:
Caroline Shelby (16 Kills, 16 Digs, .270 Hitting) Sarah Roberts (10 Kills, 4 Blocks, .350 Hitting) Ally Spillane (7 Kills, .375 Hitting, 3 Blocks)

How It Happened:
The Eagles hit .400 in the opening set and only allowed the visitors to score three points on serve on the way to a 25-14 win. Roberts had four kills on six swings in the set and Cecilia Bauer had five digs. Two early blocks from Michelle Paulsen set the tone as the Eagles jumped to a 4-0 lead out of the gate.

The second set featured even better offense by the home team. Shelby got things going with six of her kills on only seven swings, and Spillane was nearly automatic with four kills on five efforts. York only managed three points on serve in the second set. In addition to her six kills, Shelby had a pair of aces and six digs in the set. Katie Stenby served an ace to end the set with another 25-14 win.

The Eagles scuffled out of the gate in the third set. After very efficient passing through the first two sets, the Eastern serve receive showed a little weakness and the York attack capitalized. The Spartans hit .273 in the set and held the Eagles to only nine kills with eight hitting errors. York led 20-10 before the Eagles closed the gap with a couple runs on serve late to fall 25-17.

The Eagles rode the momentum of that late run into the fourth set. After falling behind 2-0, the Eagles capitalized on ten consecutive sideout opportunities on the way to a 19-12 lead. The lead stayed at seven points as the Eagles had a match-point at 24-16. York ran off six points in a row to close the gap, but the Eastern lead proved safe and the match ended with a 25-22 set. Shelby, Paulsen and Sammy Rogers each had three kills in the last set.

Coach Birtwistle Says:
"We got off to a really good start with our defense. We had a couple big blocks early and were picking things up behind the block. Out of that, we hit really well to start the match."

"It was great to see Caroline get into things with some different things today. She was very dangerous. Ally had a really good day as well. We finished the first two sets and kept telling them, York is good, we have to keep playing well. We had a few lapses and they were able to score points and run out to a big lead in the third set. It was important for us to build a little momentum at the end of the third."

"Our passing was back to where it needed to be in the fourth."

Up Next:
The Eagles are back on the court tomorrow morning against Arcadia in the first of four matches in Eastern's gym tomorrow. The Eagles will play McDaniel College in the final match of the afternoon. York will play Arcadia and McDaniel as well. The Eastern team will be doing a 'dig pink' event for the McDaniel match. There will be t-shirts on sale throughout the day with proceeds going toward breast cancer research.