GLASSBORO, N.J.– After beating the host Rowan University Profs in three sets to start the day, Eastern University Volleyball (17-3) ground out a tough five-set win over Frostburg State to complete a 3-0 weekend at the Rowan University Quad meet.
Caroline Shelby finished the with 28 kills,
Sarah Roberts had 27 kills, and
Michelle Paulsen put down 18 kills and added nine blocks.
How It Happened:
The Eagles hit .250 as a team in the three-set win over Rowan. Eastern jumped out to a 5-0 lead with
Cecilia Bauer at the service line and cruised to a 25-14 first-set win.
The Eagles broke open a 9-9 second set with
Katie Stenby serving three aces in a 5-0 run. Rowan closed the gap to 15-13 before
Morgan Kline served for four points. Shelby had back-to-back kills to start the 5-0 run, and the Eagles won the second set 25-19.
Paulsen put the Profs under pressure with her serve in a 9-0 run to break open the third set. The senior middle hitter had a pair of aces as the Eagles opened up a 13-4 lead. Eastern was able to sideout successfully for a 25-15 win in the third.
Eastern is now 14-0 against Rowan dating back to 1996.
The Frostburg match proved to be more of a struggle for the Eagles. After hitting .357 and cruising to a 25-15 win in the opening set, The Eastern offense scuffled in the second and third sets. Frostburg took advantage to build a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Bobcats built a 17-16 lead in the fourth set, but the Eagles converted four-of-five sideout chances down the stretch and picked up four points on serve to win 25-22 and force a fifth set. Paulsen had a big solo block to put the Eagles up 20-18.
Down 10-5 in the fifth set, the Eagles earned the serve on a kill from Roberts.
Lindsey Heisey then served for five points in a row to give the Eagles an 11-10 lead and force a Bobcat timeout. Roberts had three kills and a block in the decisive run.
Sammy Rogers put away a kill to execute a sideout and Stenby served the final three points of the match. Morgan Kilne finished with 43 assists and 14 digs and Bauer ended with 20 digs.
Coach Birtwistle Says:
"Two good wins today but happened in different ways. In the first match vs. Rowan, we were very efficient both in serve receive and well as earning points on serve. In the match vs. FSU, we were not efficient in our serving and defensive game and had to grind out an ugly win from behind. It is a credit to the team that we were able to figure out a way to fight back and earn the five-set win."
"Congratulations to Morgan Kline. She collected her 3,000th career assist. It came on the first set of the second set against Rowan. Caroline seems to be getting her swing in order at the right time of the year as she had 14 kills and Sarah seemed to have her way in the middle with 13 kills hitting .611."
Up Next:
The Eagles are at Delaware Valley University for a MAC Freedom match on Wednesday and then will host Manhattanville College the following Tuesday. All the while, the Eagles will be in preparation for a huge weekend at Juniata on Oct. 19 and 20. The Eagles will face, Juniata, Johns Hopkins, and Mary Washington in three matches with great significance in the region.
