FREDERICKSBURG, Va.– Eastern University Women's Volleyball saw its season end in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament with a three-set loss to the host University of Mary Washington Eagles.
Rachel Curran led the Eagles with ten kills.
Eastern (24-6) overcame a slow start in the opening set to push the host Eagles to the brink before falling 25-22. Mary Washington used aggressive serving and an efficient attack to jump to a 15-9 lead. That deficit seemed even steeper when
Hannah Pringle limped to the bench. Curran came on and Eastern was able to stabilize before a pair of big runs with
Bridgette Kelly and
Viviana Fragoso tied the score at 21. The teams traded sideouts before the hosts served for two points to close the set up 25-23.
Curran had five kills in the set and
Logan Martin had four.
Kaylyn Zeigler led the Eastern defense with six digs.
The two sides traded points early in the second set before a big run of serves from the hosts turned a 12-12 score into a 23-12 Mary Washington lead. Eastern grabbed a few points back with
Grace Casagrande at the service line, but without an ability to score on the block, all their points had to come from transition digs, and Mary Washington won 25-17.
The third set was also a battle. Eastern led at 17-16, but the lead was not big enough to withstand a final run in the same rotation that proved to be the difference in the second set. Mary Washington emerged with a 25-18 win.
"I am proud of the way we competed," Head Coach
Mark Birtwistle said after the match. "We found some things that would work against them and were able to make them work, but they are a good team."
For the match, Zeigler had 16 digs and Casagrande had 14, but Eastern managed to hit just .059 and did not record a block against Mary Washington's big and versatile six-hitter attack. Mary Washington will play Johns Hopkins tomorrow for a spot in the final eight.
With no seniors on the current roster, the 2022 season ends with much promise for the future.
