(Posted November 19, 2001)

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL (29-8, 7-0 Commonwealth): Nov. 30 vs. LaVerne (CA), NCAA Semifinals at Wis-Whitewater; Dec. 1 vs. Wis.-Whitewater or Wellesley, NCAA Final or Consolation at Wis.-Whitewater.
For the second time in the past four years, Juniata pulled off an upset on the road during the NCAA Division III Quarterfinal Round. On Saturday night at second-ranked Trinity (TX), the sixth-rated Eagles posted a 30-23, 27-30, 30-25, 30-20 win to earn the right to advance to the NCAA Division III semifinals/finals for the 17th time in the history of the championship. Juniata will now take on LaVerne (CA) (25-1) in the NCAA semifinals on November 30 at Wisconsin-Whitewater. The other semifinal in the tourney will have host Wisconsin-Whitewater and Wellesley doing battle. The finals/third-place match will be on December 1. Back in 1998, Coach Larry Bock's squad traveled to long-time rival Washington (MO) and registered a 3-2 win in the home gym of the Bears. On Saturday night, junior middle hitter Niki Mueller (Bishop Guilfoyle/Altoona) paced Juniata with 21 kills and a .417 hitting percentage. Sophomore opposite Danielle Hart (Central/Roaring Spring) had 19 kills, 15 digs, four aces and three blocks, while freshman setter Carli Dale (Cochranton/Cochranton) passed out 58 assists and had 15 digs. Senior outside hitter Brandy Workinger (Dallastown/Dallastown) finished with 11 kills and 12 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Johanna Holtan (Fargo North/Fargo, ND) posted 19 digs, seven kills and a block.

MEN'S BASKETBALL (2-0): Nov. 24-25 at Carnegie Mellon Tournament.
The Eagles started the season by winning the Adelphia/Doc Greene Tournament for the second straight year on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, Juniata came back to down Villa Julie, 87-74. The blue and gold hoopers, under the direction of first-year head coach Greg Curley, opened the game with a 14-6 run over the first four minutes, but trailed at halftime, 46-38. The Eagles tied the contest at 62 with 10:05 showing and took a 64-62 lead on a jump shot by sophomore forward Travis Martin (Huntingdon/Huntingdon) and stayed in front the rest of the way. Sophomore forward Ben Gallagher (Butler/Butler) paced the Eagles with 30 points on 11 of 17 shooting. He also had four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Senior guard Shane Crandall (North Allegheny/Doylestown) posted 19 points, eight assists and three steals, while senior forward Dave Reddick (North Hills/Pittsburgh) had 11 points and a team-best nine rebounds. On Sunday, Juniata recorded a 74-58 victory over Methodist (NC) in the championship tilt. The Eagles came back from a 32-31 deficit at halftime and started the second stanza with a 15-4 run to go ahead, 46-36, with 13:46 left in the game. Gallagher had six points during the spurt. An 11-4 stretch by the Monarchs, cut the Juniata lead to just three points, 53-50, with 7:21 to go, but that is as close as they would get. The Eagles answered the 11-4 burst with a 14-0 run, as Gallagher had six more points in the span, to help the blue and gold to a comfortable 67-50 lead with 1:18 showing. Martin came off the bench to post a team-best 18 points for Juniata. He also had three rebounds and three assists. Gallagher registered 16 points and added four rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot to his totals. Crandall added 15 points and five rebounds to the effort, while Reddick had a game-high 12 rebounds to go with four points, four assists and one steal. Crandall was named to the all-tournament team, while Gallagher was the tourney's most valuable player for the second straight year.

WOMEN'S SWIMMING (2-3): Nov. 30-Dec. 2 at Indiana (Pa.) Invitational.
Juniata posted a pair of wins at Lebanon Valley on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles downed the host squad, 83-12, and posted a 53-42 victory over Drew, which was also in attendance. The 400-yard medley relay unit of freshman Dana Gais (Kiski/Saltsburg), sophomore Kim Allen (Susquehanna Township/Harrisburg), freshman Leslie Howard (Eastmont/East Wenatchee, WA) and senior Jenn Dorsch (Gov. Thomas Johnson/Frederick, MD) got things started for the Eagles by placing first against both squads (4:52.30). In addition, the 400-yard freestyle relay squad of Gais, Dorsch, freshman Kathleen Trainor (Upper Merion/King of Prussia) and freshman Heidi Blasenak (Central Dauphin/Harrisburg) took top honors on the day (4:21.52). Individually, Blasenak won the 800-yard freestyle (10:23.14), while Trainor touched first in the 200-yard freestyle (2:19.78). Gais was victorious in the 200-yard backstroke with a Lebanon Valley pool record time of 2:35.28 and Allen won the 200-yard breaststroke (2:48.84), while her time in the 200-yard individual medley (2:34.25) was a school record and earned her a first-place showing against Lebanon Valley.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (0-2): Nov. 20, Muhlenberg.
Juniata started the season by placing fourth at the Swarthmore Tip-Off Tournament over the weekend. On Saturday, the Eagles saw a 34-23 halftime lead turn into a 71-58 loss to the host squad. Junior guard Jen LaCount (Westmont Hilltop/Johnstown) led the team in scoring with a career-high 27 points on 13 of 16 shooting from the floor, while senior forward Brandy Preslovich (Bald Eagle Area/Moshannon) finished the game with a club-best nine boards and four points. Junior guard Casey Shoup (Altoona/Altoona) had 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal, while senior point-guard Kelli Young (United/Vintondale) had five points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals. On Sunday afternoon, Juniata played Trinity College (CT) in the consolation game and lost in overtime, 91-90. Senior guard Kelly Grove (Penns Valley/Spring Mills) (30 points) and Casey Shoup (21 points) led the team in scoring, while Young paced the unit with seven assists to go along with six points and three steals. Preslovich had nine points and seven rebounds. Junior center Kelly Steinbeiser (Altoona/Altoona) had a team-best nine rebounds as well as six points. Shoup was named to the all-tournament team for the Eagles after averaging 16 points a game over the two-day stretch.

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