(Posted November 12, 2010)

FROSTBURG, Md. -- Juniata College hit for big numbers and disposed of first round opponent Cabrini College in only an hour in a 3-0 win over the Cavaliers, in Friday's opening round of regional competition in the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship at Frostburg State University's Bobcat Arena.

Set scores for Juniata were 25-9, 25-17, and 25-15.

The Eagles (31-5) hit .319 for the match, paced by junior outside hitter Drew Barnhart's (Titusville, Pa./Titusville) 13 kills on 23 swings with only one attack error â?" a .522 attack percentage. Barnhart also recorded Juniata's only block. Junior middle Amanda Schmidt (Boswell, Pa./North Star) put away eight kills on 13 swings.

Senior Steph Strauss (Penn Hills, Pa./Penn Hills) and freshman Courtney Greenberg (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers) split time at the setter position, with the two combining for 33 assists. The Eagles turned up 39 digs to Cabrini's 30, led by junior libero Libby Morrison (Portland, Ore./Oregon Episcopal School) with eight digs.

"This was basically a passing and serving kind of match, and we do pass pretty well," said Juniata head coach Larry Bock about the match. "I thought Drew (Barnhart) and Amanda (Schmidt) were very effective for us tonight."

Juniata dominated Cabrini (23-8) right out of the gate, breaking a 2-2 tie in the first set with an 8-0 run off Strauss' serve. After a one-point interruption that made the score 10-3 in Juniata's favor, the Eagles rattled of the next five points.

Set two was a little closer, as Juniata held at one-point lead at 16-15. A Schmidt kill returned service to the Eagles at 17-15, and Juniata scored the next three points behind the service of Amy Miller (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch). Barnhart and Greenberg both logged kills during the Eagles' run with Miller serving, and Juniata's lead stretched to 20-15. A pair of side-out kills moved the Juniata advantage to 21-16, and the Eagles picked up the next three points with Morrison serving. Morrison served up two service aces, with the second ace putting the Eagles on set point. Two points later, a service error by Cabrini's Courtney Abel gave the set to Juniata.

The final set went much the same as the second, with Juniata breaking open a lead starting with a 14-13 advantage. A Cabrini attack error carried Juniata's lead to 15-13, and the Eagles took the next four points with Jordan Hopper (Laguna Beach, Calif./St. Margaret's Episcopal) serving. After the two teams traded side-out points to advance the score to 20-14, Juniata scored five of the next six points to take the match. The Eagles ended the match with four straight kills, two by Schmidt and one each by Greenberg and Miller.

Cabrini's Stephanie Recklau led the Cavaliers with four kills, while Alaina Clark had three kills. Clark also had 11 assists while setting a Cabrini offense that was held to .043 hitting for the match. Sophia Sokolovich and Abel each had 10 digs.

Juniata advances to Saturday's Regional Semifinal match against Lebanon Valley College, which begins at 3:30 p.m.

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