LANCASTER, Pa. – Eastern University Women's Volleyball (4-0)  battled through a tough first set and then pulled away in the final two to earn a three-set win at Lancaster Bible College (2-3). Hannah Pringle finished with 14 kills, and Alexis Standford recorded an 11 kill-11 dig double-double to lead the Eastern attack.

Though they led throughout the first set, the margin never really grew and the hosts were within striking distance at 22-20 late in the frame. Pringle put away a kill for a three-point edge before the Eagles earned a set point with the rally of the match.

With the Eagles low on substitutions, Josie Arezina went back to serve of the first time this year. Both teams had several big-effort plays to keep the ball off the ground as the ball went over the net 25 times before Pringle finally earned the kill. Viviana Fragoso had a pair of digs and some incredible sprawling plays while covering hitters to keep the Eagles in the point. Pringle buried her seventh kill of the frame to end the set at 25-21.

In the second set, Eastern surged to a 9-4 lead on strong serving from Taylor Stone, Grace Cooper and Fragoso, and that lead stretched to 14-7 with Sarah Furey serving. The Chargers started a run and cut the Eastern edge to 17-12, but Arezina delivered a big kill from the right side to earn the sideout and stop the run. Stone and Cooper served out the set. The Eagles hit .259 in the second frame, and Veronica Faber had three of her five blocks on the way to a 25-13 win.

Eastern closed out the match with efficient serve-receive and aggressive serving in the third. With Maddie Golia, and Jessie Schreiber joining Faber and Arezina at the net, the hosts hit a negative number in falling 25-17 in the third. The group up front had four total blocks, and Standford and Furey each had five digs. Standford put away five balls in the third to reach double-digit kills for the third time in four matches.

"It is good to see some of the things we are working on coming to fruition in our matches," Head Coach Mark Birtwistle said. " A few more of our players are getting involved in the production. The team is working hard and trying to get better everyday." 

Furey and Stone each finished with 14 assists. Fragoso had 14 digs, six assists, and two aces, and Cooper had nine digs and two aces.

The win gives the Eagles momentum going into a tough match-up at Catholic this Saturday. Eastern will also play FDU-Florham. The Cardinals are 1-3 starting the year, but two of those losses are to nationally-ranked squads.