SAN ANTONIO, Texas– Eastern University Women's Volleyball opened their trip to Texas with a pair of three-set wins. The Eagles (7-1) beat Endicott College (Mass.) in the opening game of the Trinity National Invitational and then came back to beat Covenant College (Ga.) in their final game of the day.
Covenant (4-3) entered the year in the National Rankings after finishing last season 35-3. The Scots reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament where they lost to Emory University.
"We really played well, executing both offensively and defensively, " Head Coach
Mark Birtwistle said after the match. "[It was] Nice to see big plays against a very talented team. Our serving and serve-receive definitely improved from this morning."
Hannah Pringle finished the match against Covenant with 13 kills while hitting a team-best .310.
The Eastern passing was especially useful in the opening set. The Eagles were successful on 11-of-15 side-out chances while hitting .278 as a team. Pringle had six of her kills as the Eagles opened up a big early lead and held on for a 25-15 win.
Elle Jiron-Bujanda picked up 12 assists in the opening set.
The Scots kept things close early in the second, but the Eagles scored nine of the final ten points to claim a 25-16 win.
Bridgette Kelly served three points and
Grace Cooper served the final five points. Led by
Trinity Gruber's eight digs, the Eastern defense stood out with 25 digs. The Scots hit -.041 in the set.
Viviana Fragoso started the third set with a pair of aces. and the Eagles held on to win 25-21. Pringle put away six balls, and
Logan Martin and
Bridgette Kelly each put down four kills. The Eagles hit .237 with 14 kills in the third.
Pringle had ten kills in the opening win over Endicott. The Gulls (4-3) grabbed their only lead in any set late in the third, but
Grace Casagrande, Gruber, and Kelly each served for points on the way to a 26-24 win. Casagrande had a match-high 17 digs in the first contest and a match-best 16 in the nightcap. Jiron-Bujanda finished with 65 assists in the two matches.
The Eagles will take on Trinity in the final match of the tournament tomorrow evening. The No.11 Tigers have played in each of last four Elite Eights.
