SCRANTON, Pa.– Eastern University Volleyball opened the 2019 campaign with a pair of wins at the Scranton Invitational. The Eagles cruised to a three-set win over Hood College in the first meeting between the two schools. Moments after that match, Eastern ground out a five-set win over a very solid COllege at Brockport squad. Eastern is 4-0 against Brockport, but the two teams have not played since they met twice in 2005.

Numbers that Matter:
Eastern hit over .400 in the opening two sets and .427 in the match against Hood. Morgan Kline had 41 assists on the Eagles' 47 kills. Cecilia Bauer had 11 digs in her first match as a libero. Bauer had 21 digs against Brockport.

Caroline Shelby finished the day with 29 kills on 97 swings. The sophomore outside hitter is now 18 kills from 500 in her career.

Michelle Paulsen had a very efficient offensive day. The senior middle hitter had 28 kills and hit .553. With three blocks, she moved into sole possession of the second spot on Eastern's career block list. Sarah Roberts had sixteen kills in the two matches.

Ally Spillane put away 14 kills and hit .370 in the win over Brockport.

How it Happened:
After the quick win over Hood, the Eagles and the Brockport Golden Eagles locked in a tough battle with both teams enjoying leads in each of the first four sets. Eastern scored four points with Morgan Kline at the service line to open up a five-point lead in the fifth set. Brockport closed the gap to 10-9, but a kill from Spillane stopped the run and the Eagles pulled away to a 15-9 win. Spillane had four kills on the final five points of the match.

Eastern scored seven of the final eight points to claim a 25-20 win in the critical third-set win. Paulsen put away the final two points of the set.

Coach Birtwistle Says:

"Both middles were really solid today, and Cecelia was steady on defense for us and controlled the middle of the court. Her serve receive was also strong overall."

"Caroline might need to replace her bionic right shoulder after nearly 100 swings today. She was very efficient against Hood, but she struggled to put balls away versus the Brockport defense. They were a very good  team. "

Up next:
Eastern continues at the Scranton Invitational with a match against RIT (1-1) at 12:30 and a test against the host Royals (2-0) at 4:30.