LANCASTER, Pa.– After dropping a 5-set heartbreaker to the host Franklin & Marshall Diplomats in the opening match of the day, Eastern University Women's Volleyball rallied to claim a four-set win over the University of Lynchburg Hornets (2-1) to finish their weekend in Central Pa. With a 2-1 mark.
Hannah Pringle hit .400 with 33 kills to lead the Eastern attack.
Coming off the tough loss to F & M, the Eagles scuffled out of the gate against Lynchburg. Despite hitting just .067 in the first set, the Eagles extended the first set before falling 33-31. The Eastern offense found its rhythm and the Eagles hit .195 in a 25-21 win in the second set before grabbing control of the match with an impressive .433 hitting performance in a 25-11 win in the third. Eastern had 16 more kills to close out the match with a 25-19 win in the fourth.
Pringle finished with a team-high 16 kills and added 12 digs. Led by a 22-dig effort from
Trinity Gruber, six different Eastern players earned double-digit digs.
Kaylyn Zeigler hit a solid .265 with 12 kills and ten digs playing on the right side.
Bridgette Kelly had seven kills, three aces, and six blocks. Elle Jiron Bujanda dished out 51 assists and was a perfect 7-for-7 attacking.
"[It was] Unfortunate to surrender the 5th set lead to F&M but they played tough," Head Coach
Mark Birtwistle said after the matches. "Elle did a nice job running the offense and gave our hitters opportunities to be successful. The team bounced back nicely in the second match after dropping the first set and rallied to finish the day strong. Hannah and Bridgette did a nice job offensively and Trinity stepped in as libero and did a great job. We'll continue to focus on some areas we need to get better but overall it was a good opening weekend."
The first match saw the team attacking toward the closed end of the gym find success throughout the day. Eastern hit just .003 in the first and third sets, and Franklin & Marshall hit -.003 in the second and fourth. The Eagles cruised to commanding 25-12 wins in the even numbered sets. The Diplomats earned lopsided wins in the the first and third sets.
Eastern opened the fifth set facing the the closed end of the gym and jumped to a 7-3 lead on three kills from Pringle. It looked like the Eagles were going to change directions at 8-3, but an Eastern block was ruled to have landed just wide. With the set at 7-4, the Diplomats rattled off the next three points. Though the Eagles made the change up 8-7, the hosts scored the next five points after the change to grab control of the match. The Diplomats took the final set 15-10.
Pringle hit .500 with 17 kills and six digs.
Grace Casagrande had 19 digs and Viviiana Fragoso pounded out four aces. Jiron-Bujanda had 29 assists and 12 digs.
The Eagles are at Swarthmore College on Wednesday before opening up their home slate with three matches next weekend. They will host Gallaudet University on Friday night and Elizabethtown College and McDaniel College on Saturday.
