TOWSON, Md.– Eastern University Women's Volleyball swept a pair of contests at Goucher College to improve to 8-3 on the year. The Eagles handed the Rowan University Profs (10-1) their first loss of the year in the opener and beat the host Gophers in the second match. In the win over Rowan, Bridgette Kelly hit .500 and led the Eagles with eight kills, three aces, and a block. Grace Casagrande had 35 digs on the day.

With the day being set aside as a dig pink day, the Rowan match had special meaning. Dating back to her time coaching in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference, Rowan Head Coach Deanna Jesperson is a long-time friend and rival. When Eastern Head Coach Mark Birtwistle was inducted into Eastern's Hall of Honor last fall, Jesperson presented him. The two programs have grown close. Last year, Jesperson missed several weeks of Rowan's season in cancer treatment, and the three schools did a day to support Unite for Her at Eastern. At last year's NCAA Tournament both teams were at Johns Hopkins and had opportunity to cheer for each other.

Even so, the game was an important test for the Eagles.

Eastern hit .239 for the match and did not trail in either of the first two sets. The Eagles trailed 21-20 in the closely contested third set before Trinity Gruber served for the final four points of the match. Logan Martin delivered the kill on the second to last point and Natalie Saxton and Kaylyn Zeigler combined for a block on match point.

Kelly, Saxton, Martin, and Hannah Pringle all had multiple kills and the Eagles were able to sideout at 72 percent in the first frame. The Eagles jumped to an 8-2 lead and pulled away to win 25-18.

Zeigler had five kills and a block as the Eagles hit .406 to win the second set 25-25. Elle Jiron-Bujanda had 14 of her 35 assists in the second. Eastern hit just .091 in the third set but were able to earn the win with three blocks and three aces. Casagrande had 11 of her 19 digs in the third set.

For the match, Pringle had ten kills, Kelly and Zeigler had eight, and Saxton and Martin each had six.

Birtwistle changed up line-ups for the Goucher match, and players with fresh legs performed well in the three-set win. Rachel Curran and Jailene Lugo each had nine kills, and Peyton Wheeler and Grace Nealy each put down five balls. Casagrande again led the defense with 16 kills. Jillian Avadnian had nine digs and an ace and Viviana Fragoso had 13 digs and an ace.

The opening set turned with Kelly at the service line. The sophomore middle hitter earned a sideout with a kill to put the Eagles up 11-10 and then served nine-straight points for a 20-11 lead. The Eagles went on to win 25-14.

In the second set Kelly and Jiron-Bujanda served the Eagles to a 9-2 lead. Lugo was dominant with six kills on eight swings in helping the Eagles to a 25-11 win.  Curran hit .500 in the third set, and the Eagles won 25-12. The Eagles were able to sideout at 79 percent (30-of-38) for the match.

"It was a good day today, Birtwistle said after the match. I thought our defense did a nice job handling the Rowan offense Offensively, our middles, Bridgette and Natalie, were very efficient keeping the Rowan defense on their heels. It was great to get players opportunities in the second match. I thought they each took advantage. Most importantly, today was a great day to support Unite For Her and those affected with breast cancer. All three teams played today to honor and support Coach Deana in her journey. Today we loved using our talents to play volleyball to promote a great organization and such courageous people like Deana."

The Eagles (8-2, 1-0) return to MAC Commonwealth play with a match at Albright on Wednesday. They will then travel to Juniata for two matches, including one against the No. 2 Eagles, next Saturday.