(Posted September 29, 2010)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Middle hitter Kristin Noetzel (Closter, N.J./Northern Valley Regional) put away 10 kills with two blocks to lead Juniata College women's volleyball to a 3-0 win over Elizabethtown College, in Juniata's third annual "Dig Pink Night" match on Thursday night at the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center.

Set scores for Juniata were 25-18, 25-11, and 25-15.

Juniata (15-1), ranked second in the AVCA Division III coaches poll, hit .288 for the match, with senior Steph Strauss (Penn Hills, Pa./Penn Hills) setting 27 assists. Opposite Kelsey Fuller (Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion) and outside hitter Rachelle Wiegand (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) each recorded eight kills; Wiegand tallied hers on just 18 swings with only two errors for a .333 attack percentage from the left side, and also logged two blocks. Freshman outside hitter Amy Miller (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) finished with six kills on the night.

Libero Libby Morrison (Portland, Ore./Oregon Episcopal School) turned up 22 digs, her fourth 20-dig performance of the season.

Elizabethtown (11-6) was paced by pin hitter Holly Bubb with seven kills on 18 swings for a .333 attack clip, while middle hitter Lindsay Palm recorded six kills and five errors on 20 attacks.

Setter Crystal Agnew set 20 assists for the Blue Jays, but Elizabethtown was held to a .108 hitting percentage for the match. Much of that came in the first set, when the Blue Jays hit .194 and were tied with the Eagles as late as 15-15, but E-town failed to hit over .100 in either the second or third set.

The Eagles actually trailed for a good portion of set one, down 10-5 until a service error by E-town's Andrea Weaver returned serve to Juniata. With Fuller serving, Juniata rattled off four straight points, including three kills by Strauss and an ace by Fuller. That knotted the set at 10-10, and the lead see-sawed back and forth all the way to 14-14. Back-to-back kills by Noetzel and Fuller gave Juniata a 16-14 lead, and the Eagles slowly pulled away from there. A Miller kill put Juniata on set point, and an attack error by Palm clinched the set for the Eagles.

Sets two and three were dominated by Juniata.

A four-point Juniata run off Morrison's serve ended with the Eagles holding a 16-7 lead in set two, with Wiegand getting a pair of kills during the run. Shorter point runs by off the serve of Strauss and Jordan Hopper (Laguna Beach, Calif./St. Margarets Episcopal) sealed the set. In set three, Morrison's serve again proved to be E-town's undoing, as Juniata notched seven straight points off her offering. Morrison put away two points on aces, while Noetzel had a pair of kills.

Approximately 975 fans were in attendance for the "Dig Pink Night" festivities, which were entirely planned by members of the Juniata women's volleyball team. The event raised approximately $3000, with all proceeds going to the Side-Out Foundation â?" an organization that raises money for breast cancer research through the sport of volleyball.

Juniata will face Landmark Conference opponents Goucher College, United States Merchant Marine Academy, and Susquehanna University on Saturday and Sunday at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pa., in the first of two Landmark round-robin weekends.

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.