ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Women's Volleyball picked up a pair of non-league wins in a home tri-match leading up to Tuesday's MAC Freedom showdown with Stevens. The Eagles (14-8) beat Widener in four sets in the morning before putting together one of their most complete matches of the year to beat Rowan in three sets.
Cecilia Bauer had 22 kills and 21 digs while hitting .365 in the two matches.
How It Happened:
The Eagles served and passed in the match-up with Rowan (13-14). The Profs, who beat Widener in four sets in the middle match of the day, had several options in every rotation and looked to be dangerous serving the ball. The Eagles, who had some struggles in serve-receive against Widener, found their passing rhythm early. They were able to sideout at 63 percent to win the opening set 25-18.
The Profs built a 10-7 lead with a couple good runs on serve, but the Eagles only failed on one hideout chance the rest of the set. Eastern got a pair of good serving runs from Bauer and
Morgan Kline to forge a 17-13 lead.
Hannah Picconi had four of her career-high ten blocks in the opening set to help the Eagles to score enough points on serve to pull away in the set. Though the Eagles hit only .115 in the frame, they tallied five blocks and held their guests to a negative hitting percentage.
The Profs built a 13-10 lead in the second set, but Bauer served for eight consecutive points to put the Eagles up 19-13. The senior outside hitter had five aces in the burst. Picconi and
Caroline Shelby combined on a pair of blocks to keep the run going. Though the Profs closed the gap to 22-19, the Eagles scored the final three points to claim the second set. Bauer put away an overpass on a tough serve from Shelby to go up 24-19. She finished the set with an out of system kill on a good pass from
Katie Stenby. The Eastern libero had all six of her assists in the second set.
Down 8-5 in the third, it was
Ashley Thorsted who put together a serving run. The rookie setter served eight-straight for a 14-8 lead. Picconi had four more blocks in the run.
Ally Spillane was with her for two of those blocks and she and Bauer both put down two kills in the burst.
The Eagles gradually increased their lead to 23-14 before Rowan scored another point on serve. The Profs scored two, but Bauer and Shelby were able to put away kills for hideouts to end the match.
The morning match featured some big runs as well. In the opening set, the Eagles trailed 13-5 to the Pride (7-17) before
Kylie McCusker, Bauer and Spillane each ran off serving runs. Spillane had a pair of aces in a seven-point run to put the Eagles up 20-15. The Pride pulled within a point at 21-20 before the Eagles closed out the set with a 25-21 win.
Though the Eagles hit .300 in the second set, the Pride hit just a little better and took advantage of some shaky passing to win 25-21.
Down 17-14 in the third set, the Eagles grabbed the 19-17 lead with
Katie Stenby at the service line, but the Pride answered with a three-point run of their own. Bauer served for a pair of points after a Shelby kill and the Eagle were able to earn sideouts the rest of the way for a 25-23 win and a 2-1 lead int he match.
The Eagles trailed 22-19 in the fourth before Spillane pounded out her 16th kill of the match to earn a sideout and a chance to serve. Picconi and Shelby combined on a block for the first point and the Eagles took the lead in the set on a pair of hitting errors. Spillane delivered an ace for a 24-22 lead before the Pride earned the seven with a kill. Shelby pounded out her 17th kill of the match to end it.
Against Widener, Bauer had 14 kills and 16 digs and Shelby also had a double-double with 17 kills and 12 digs. Spillane's 16 kills in the match is her highest total since 2017.
Coach Birtwistle Says:
"The team beat two quality teams today. Widener improves every time we play them and Rowan is stacked full of athletes that can create a lot of problems."
"Against Widener, our team did a nice job of showing some heart and came from behind in several of the sets. Our offense started off slowly, so it was our defensive effort that had to get us to get back in the game. We had double-digit digs from 4 players and that's a different maker."
"It was also a defensive stat in the Rowan match that paced our team but this one came in the blocking game. Hannah had a season high 10 blocks and the team 22. We also had potentially our best serving game of the season keeping Rowan's big attack off rhythm."
"I am happy for the total team effort today to get two solid wins."
Up Next:
The Eagles travel to Stevens Institute of Technology on Tuesday with the MAC Freedom Regular Season Championship and the top seed in the MAC Freedom Tournament on the line. Both teams are 5-0 in MAC Freedom play. While it is possible that the losing team could still get a share of the Regular Season Championship, the winner will secure the top seed because head-to head is the first tie-breaker. That match starts at 7:00 pm.
