ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Michelle Paulsen came into this evening's MAC Freedom match  against King's College with 498 career blocks. With 13 kills and ten blocks tonight, the middle hitter became the first Eastern player to reach 500 blocks for her career. After scuffling out of the gate, the Eagles hit .420 over the final three sets to earn a 3-1 win.

How It Happened:
Though the Eagles (13-3, 2-1 MAC Freedom) hit a very respectable .306 in the opening set, eleven errors in the opening set opened the door, and the young Monarchs (10-4, 1-2 MAC Freedom) built a 22-19 lead. The Eagles were unable to overcome that late three-point deficit and dropped the set.

Sarah Roberts had seven of her 14 kills in the second set. The senior middle hitter hit .480 for the match and .778 in the second set. Ally Spillane converted all four of her hitting attempts for a perfect second set at the net. Spillane finished the match with 10 kills on only 16 swings and was part of six blocks. As a team, the Eagles hit .364 in running to a 25-18 win in the second.

The Eagles were even more efficient in the third set. Caroline Shelby put down seven of her match-high 18 kills in the third. The Eagles finished the set with fifteen kills and only one hitting error on the way to a 25-12 win.

Eastern built a 12-1 lead with Morgan Kline serving in the fourth set and never looked back. Kline had five aces in the set, and Paulsen had five blocks and three kills. Eastern hit .478 on the way to a 25-9 win. Kline finished the match with 52 assists.  Cecila Bauer led the Eastern defense with 18 digs. Katie Stenby added 13.

Coach Birtwistle Says:
"Ally was really good tonight. She had all her shots and was very involved in our block. Once we got our middles going we started to really play well. We had a lot of mistakes early. We made some adjustments, put them under pressure with our serve, and went back to what we do well."

Up Next:
The Eagles have a rare weekend off. They will host Wilkes in another MAC Freedom match next Tuesday.