ST.DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Women's Volleyball dropped a three-set decision to the visiting Juniata College Eagles (6-4). With good defense at the net, Juniata, ranked seventh in the most recent AVCA national poll, limited the Eastern Eagles (6-6) to only .045 hitting for the match.

How It Happened:
Though Juniata jumped to an early 15-7 lead in the opening set, the Eastern Eagles found a run and closed the gap to 17-15. Hannah Picconi capped the run with a solo block. The visitors earned a sideout and rebuilt their edge with five points on the serve of Aly Reardon. Two of those points and three of the final four Juniata points in the set came off blocks. Juniata finished the match with 9-to-1 edge in total blocks. Juniata took the opening set 25-18.

After dropping the second set, the Eastern Eagles found a better serving and passing rhythm in the third. Once again, Eastern used a run to pull to within two at 17-15, but the Juniata Eagles scored eight of the final ten points of the match to secure the 25-17 win in the third.

Katie Stenby led the Eagles with 15 digs. Caroline Shelby finished with nine kills to bring her career total to 990. Emma Davis was the only Juniata player in double-digit kills. She had ten.

Coach Birtwistle Says:
"I thought coming off Wednesday we brought good energy to this game. When we were able to pass, we could score points. Their size presented us with some challenges we've not seen this year. That experience will help us going forward."

"Katie did a really nice job keeping us in points today. We have to continue to get better in our serving and passing while keeping the energy level where it has been. Tomorrow will be a good test and the Misericordia game is a huge one. They put together 12 wins in a row. That becomes a really important game in the league."

Up Next:
The Eagles host the Eastern Connecticut State Warriors tomorrow at 2:30 and the Misericordia University Cougars on Tuesday at 7:00 pm.