Juniata Earns Spot In Final With 3-0 Sweep

HUNTINGDON, Pa. - Second-ranked and top-seeded Juniata College will host the Landmark Conference Women's Volleyball Tournament championship match, after dispatching fourth-seeded Moravian College, 3-0, Wednesday night at the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center in Huntingdon, Pa.

Game scores were 30-11, 30-12, and 30-28.

Juniata will host the University of Scranton in the Landmark Conference title match on Saturday, Nov. 3, at 7:00 p.m. in the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center. Scranton, the no. 3 seed, upset second-seeded Catholic University, 3-0, in a match played in Washington, D.C.

The first two games were won handily by Juniata (32-4). In the first game, Juniata went on a 15-2 run to break open an 8-5 game and give the Eagles a commanding lead. Paige Johnston (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) wrapped up the win with a kill off a serve by Moravian's Mary King.

Game two was also an all-Juniata affair, as the Eagles again took a slim lead early and cruised to the win behind superior serving and blocking. Megan Lamens (Schellsburg, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) put Juniata within striking distance of the win, scoring four straight Juniata points on kills to give the Eagles a 27-12 lead. After a return error by Moravian, Beth Kozak (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon Area) and Amber Thomas (Ephrata, Pa./Conestoga Valley) picked up the last two points to give the Eagles the game two victory.

Game three was a closer battle, as Moravian briefly held the lead on several occasions. Juniata eventually sealed the win with a block by Kristin Noetzel (Closter, N.J./Northern Valley Regional) and Michelle Morchesky (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) to give the Eagles a 29-27 lead, and then each team committed a net violation to eventually produce the 30-28 Juniata victory.

"We blocked very poorly over the last couple weeks, and we wanted to solidify that part of our game. We were successful in doing that tonight with nine team blocks, so there was some definite progress made there," said Juniata head coach Larry Bock.

Thomas led Juniata with 13 kills and a .632 attack percentage, with Lamens and Erin Albert (Philipsburg, Pa./Philipsburg-Osceola) each recording eight terminations. Lamens and Kozak each had four total blocks, while Albert had a pair of blocks.

"We made some adjustments with our middle hitters, and Megan and Erin had real good nights," added Bock.

Kozak finished with 31 set assists, while Steph Strauss (Penn Hills, Pa./Penn Hills) finished with 12 assists. Megan Sollenberger (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) had a team-high 14 digs.