ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Women's Volleyball will host the nine-time defending Champion Stevenson University Mustangs for today's MAC Commonwealth Championship match. The Eagles, under head Coach
Mark Birtwistle, have won 21 conference championships in their last 23 seasons. This is the first year in the MAC Commonwealth for Eastern Women's Volleyball.
Eastern (23-5, 7-1) earned the right to host by virtue of a head-to-head win against the Mustangs early in the year. As they did against Messiah on Wednesday, the Eagles fought off a match point in the fifth set and went on to win 16-14. In that match, Stevenson won the first and third sets and Eastern won the second and fourth.
For the Eagles,
Logan Martin had 16 kills,
Natalie Saxton had 13, and
Bridgette Kelly had ten. Shannon Baily had 13 and Piper Connors had 12 to lead the Mustangs.
How They Got Here:
Eastern needed all five sets to get past fourth-seeded Messiah in the semifinals. Messiah, who beat the Eagles in five in the regular season, was up 9-4 and 11-7 in the fifth set before the Eagles rallied. Martin had 19 kills.
Grace Casagrande led the Eastern serve receive and picked up a career-high 36 digs. That mark is tied for the fourth best single game total in program history. Ellie Jiron-Bujanda had 49 assists and 15 digs.
The Mustangs dropped the opening set to third-seed York. They found their rhythm offensively and hit .281 and held York to a microscopic .019 hitting percentage over the final three sets. After losing the first point of the second set, the Mustangs only trailed for a single point the rest of the way.
Connors had 14 kills and Baily and Sarah Straub had nine. Kayla Vaeth had 20 digs.
What to Look For:
Eastern's young squad has run with a single setter for much of the year. Jiron-Bujanda has 776 assists. When the Eagles are most effective, she is able to incorporate her middles and bring sophomore right-side
Jailene Lugo into the mix.
Bridgette Kelly has 227 kills and is hitting .351, and fellow middle
Natalie Saxton has 155 kills and is hitting .293. Lugo is hitting .298 on the year and had a career-high 12 kills against Messiah.
In order to get the middles involved, the Eagles will need to pass effectively and play good defense. Casagrande and fellow specialists
Kelsey Bradshaw,
Grace Will, and
Trinity Gruber will have much of the responsibility behind the block. Casagrande leads Eastern with 459 digs.
Stevenson features a veteran group and will play with two setters. Senior Mackenzie Blevins will set in the back row and hit in the front. She leads the Mustangs with 66 aces and 589 assists.
Sophia Eckerd, the Mustangs' lone first-year hitter has a team-best 256 kills. Connors and Bailey each average about 2.2 kills per set. In the middle, the Mustangs block well. Sarah Straub has 158 kills and 103 blocks and Darian Dildy has 158 kills and 93 blocks. Eckerd has 95 blocks.
What is at stake:
The winner of today's game will secure the MAC Commonwealth Championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. That event will occur in eight eight-team regionals at too be announced locations around the United States. Johns Hopkins, Juniata, and NYU would all seem to be likely hosts within driving distance for either team.
How to Watch:
Spectators are welcome at The Nest, but are reminded that masks are required. Because this is a Championship event, admission will be charged. Eastern Student Development is picking up the cost of tickets for current Eastern students with their E-Card.
Those unable to attend in person can
watch online . The stream will start at approximately 2:40.
