WILKES-BARRE, Pa.– Eastern University Women's Volleyball capped fall break with a four-set win over the host Wilkes University Colonels. With the win, the Eagles secure a 12th and final bid to the MAC Freedom Tournament. Eastern Women's Volleyball has won all 11 MAC Freedom Titles since joining the league in 2008. Eastern will compete on the other side of the MAC starting in 2020.

How It Happened:
A four-point run with Kylie McCusker serving late in the opening set gave the Eagles  (12-7, 4-0) a 20-14 edge in what had been a close set. The teams traded side-outs the rest of the way and Eastern held on for a 25-19 win. Led by five kills from Caroline Shelby, Eastern hit .355 in the opening set. Lindsey Heisey put down the final kill of the set.

The Eastern service game helped the Eagles to jump out to a big lead in the second set. Cecilia Bauer, Ally Spillane, and Ashley Thorsted served the Eagles to a 9-2 lead. Spillane and Thorsted each had aces in the opening run.

The Colonels (9-10, 2-2) responded with a four-point run, but Shelby stopped the run with a kill and served for a pair of points. Only one time on the way to a 25-12 win in the set did an Eastern server not score a point. With good passing and the Colonels spending time out of system, the Eagles hit .350 in the second set.

The Eagles fell behind in the third set and were unable to put together a string of points on serve until late. After trailing 20-10, the Eagles rallied to close the gap to 25-20, but the deficit was too much to overcome.

In the fourth set, McCusker served for four points to give the Eagles an 11-7 lead. The junior setter had an ace in the run and Bauer put down a kill and combined with Hannah Picconi on a block.

The Colonels were only able to score two points on serve the rest of the way and the Eagles pulled away to a 25-15 win to secure the match.

Shelby finished with a match-high 17 kills. Bauer had 11 kills on 24 swings. Katie Stenby led the Eagles with 14 digs and McCusker had 19 assists and three aces. The Eagles finished with 11 total aces. The Eagles hit .259 for the match.

Coach Birtwistle says:
"Our passers got us into the game early tonight and we were able to find some offensive rhythm. Our defensive intensity has to improve in some areas to keep the momentum in our favor throughout the match. In all, we accomplished our goal of moving forward in the conference."

Up Next:
The Eagles are at Arcadia on Thursday evening for a non-league match and then will return to conference action next Wednesday with a home match against Delaware Valley. The Eagles can secure a home match in the opening round with a win in that contest.