GETTYSBURG, Pa.– With a pair of wins at the Battlefield Classic hosted by Gettysburg College, Eastern University Women's Volleyball passed the first two tests of the 2024 season. After an efficient 3-0 win over the Susquehanna University Riverhawks, the Eagles ground out a tough four-set win over a strong side from Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Hannah Pringle led the Eagles 28 total kills in the two matches. The junior standout had 19 kills in the win over Eau Claire.
In the 42-year history of the AVCA Division III poll, only 21 teams have spent any time at the top of the poll. After winning the 2021 National Title, the Blugolds claimed the top spot on the poll. Eau Claire is one of five teams on Eastern's schedule that have been atop the poll. Knowing that, the second game of the night was seen as an early indicator on a season full of indicators.
Early on, things did not look good. Eau Claire jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the opening set. The Eagles (2-0) did not put together any big runs but clawed back into the set with steady side-out play and quality serving for small runs. They finally took the lead at 23-22 on a
Viviana Fragoso service ace. Even after taking the lead the Eagles had to fend off a set point at 25-24 before earning a 27-25 win on kills from
Bridgette Kelly and Pringle.
After Eau Claire leveled the match with a 25-22 win in the second set, the Eagles ran out to a 5-0 lead in the third set. Fragoso served a pair of aces and Pringle had three kills in the early run. The BlueGolds closed the gap to 9-8, but Kelly converted a kill to stop the run and served for three points to restore a five-point edge. The Eagles held that lead and closed out the set with a 25-16 win on Kelly's second ace of the set. Kelly hit .545 in the match with seven kills, three blocks, and a pair of aces. The Eagles hit .375 with only two errors in the third set.
The two sides battled throughout the fourth set before the Eagles emerged with a 29-27 win. With both teams earning side-outs with efficiency, the Eagles ran through their substitutions and ended the match with
Emma Flores and
Jailene Lugo in the back row. Despite combining for just one serve in 2023, the duo each put pressure on Eau Claire with aggressive serves.
Logan Martin ended the contest with her tenth kill of the match.
To close out the match,
Grace Casagrande led a tremendous defensive effort with seven digs and a perfect 14-for-14 performance receiving serve. She finished with a match-high 21 digs.
Elle Jiron-Bujanda had 39 assists as the Eagles hit .254 in the match.
"This was a great team win," Head Coach
Mark Birtwistle said. "There were a lot of people that stepped up and made adjustments when we needed it. Eau Claire is a very well-coached team. They are disciplined and have a great offense. [It is] Really exciting to play a great match against a great team so early."
In the opener, the Eagles used good passing and efficient offense to beat the Riverhawks (0-2) in three sets. For the match, the Eagles were successful on 67 percent of their side-out chances and hit .250. Casagrande had 20 digs to lead the Eastern defense, and Martin finished with 12 kills, four blocks, and a .391 hitting percentage. Jiron-Bujanda had 36 assists.
The Eagles won the opening set 25-20 and then did not trail in either of the final two sets on the way to 25-21 and 25-15 wins.
Emma Flores had nine kills in each match. She hit .348 against Eau Claire and .280 against Susquehanna.
On the final day of the Battlefield Classic, the Eagles will start their informal tour of the Centennial Conference when they play Franklin and Marshall College and Dickinson College.
