OWINGS  MILLS, Md.– Eastern University Women's Volleyball (9-1, 2-0) won the final two sets to earn an important five-set MAC Commonwealth win at Stevenson University. The Mustangs (7-2, 1-1) have won all nine MAC Commonwealth Women' Volleyball Championships and had not lost a regular-season league game since arriving in the league in 2012. Grace Casagrande finished with 24 digs and and Ashley Thorsted  dished out 48 assists.

The hosts grabbed a pair of leads in the match with wins in the first and third sets, but the Eagles found their side-out game in a 25-15 win to level the match in the fourth and held off a late Stevenson charge to win the fifth set , 16-14.

The Eagles built a 6-1 lead in the fifth behind aggressive serving from Kelsey Bradshaw. They held a 12-8 lead when Thorsted dunked home a tight pass, but the Mustangs showed their mettle with a side-out and three points on serve to tie the set at 12-12.

Head Coach Mark Birtwistle called a timeout and the Eagles picked up a side-out on a service error, but the Mustangs responded with a first-swing side-out and a point on serve to earn a match point. Natalie Saxton pounded out her 13th and final kill of the match for a side-out and a 14-14 tie. It is the first double-digit kill match of Saxton's young career.

Casagrande put the Eagles up with a tough serve that created a hitting error, and Bridgette Kelly and Kaylyn Ziegler combined on a beautiful stuff block to end the match.

"Our emphasis was on serving well," Head Coach Mark Birtwistle said after the match. "It was a loud gym and this was a new experience for most of the team. They responded well to go up early in the fifth. We were still able to push through to earn the win after giving up the lead in the fifth.  Ashley stepped up tonight and led the team. With our passers doing their jobs well, she started finding our middles and Nat and Bridget terminated. Kaylyn played a different position than the weekend, and made Stevenson work. If it wasn't a kill, we scored on the second attempt."

Thorsted had been setting in a 6-2, but with Elle Jiron-Bujonda unavailable, the junior took over the reins and ran the offense in a 5-1. She added two kills, eight digs and a block to her 48 assists.

Logan Martin led the team with 16 kills, but Saxton and Kelly were incredibly efficient out of the middle. Saxton hit .440 for the match with a pair of blocks and Kelly finished with 10 kills, five blocks, and a pair of aces. She hit .400 in the match. Ziegler's lone block came on the final point of the game, but the sophomore finished with 10 kills on 25 attempts.

The Eagles committed to aggressiveness at the service line, and they finished with 10 aces. Kelsey Bradshaw finished with a match-high four, and Grace Will added three. Trinity Gruber contributed 12 digs.

While both teams still have the bulk of their seasons remaining, the Eagles earned the early edge in pursuit of the top spot and home-court advantage in the post-season with tonights win.

Eastern is home for three matches this weekend. The Eagles host the Franklin and Marshall College Diplomats on Friday at 7:00 and will host a tri-match with Rowan and Goucher on Saturday. Saturday's matches will be a 'Unite for Her' event. Eastern's program will look to rally support for Rowan Head Coach Deanna Jesperson in her battle against cancer.