St. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Women's Volleyball hit .330 as a team, and the Eagles put away 46 kills in a three-set win over the visiting Mules of Muhlenberg College.
Bridgette Kelly had 11 of her 12 kills in the opening two sets to help the Eagles establish the early lead.
The Eagles (5-1) scored the first six points of the match and rode 17 first-set kills to a 25-17 win in the opening frame. Kelly put away 6-of-7 swings and McKenie Boyer had four kills to pace the Eastern attack.
The Mules (2-4) led early in the second set before taking the lead on a three-point run with
Grace Cooper at the service line. Cooper had an ace and Boyer a kill to put the Eagles up 12-10. The set then turned into a side-out battle until the Mules found three-straight to go up 221-20.
Hannah Pringle stopped the run with a resounding kill, and
Grace Casagrande served three-straight to take the Eagles to set point. Pringle and Kelly each had kills with Casagrande serving.
Elle Jiron-Bujanda closed out the set with a solo block. The graduate setter finished the match with 40 assists, 11 digs, and two solo blocks. Pringle finished with a match-high 14 kills.
Pringle had five kills in the opening eight points of the third set, and the Eagles jumped out to a decisive 14-4 lead. Kelly's aggressive serving helped the Eagles to the big lead and kept her out of the front row for the third set. Boyer and
Grace Nealy combined on a block to end the match with the 25-14 third-set win.
"Bridgette was outstanding offensively with a season high in kills and hitting percentage tonight," Head Coach
Mark Birtwistle said after the match. "Elle took advantage of her efficiency and kept us ahead. It was a good win to build some momentum before we head down to Texas."
The Eagles head to San Antonio where they will face three tough opponents at Trinity National Invitational. The Eagles will play Endicott and Covenant College (Ga. ) on Friday and will take on the host Tigers on Saturday. Both Trinity and Covenant won more than 30 matches last year, and Trinity has participated in the last four Elite 8's.
