HUNTINGDON, PA - Susquehanna University's volleyball season met its end in the Landmark Semifinals Thursday night against tenth-ranked Juniata as the Eagles dropped a 3-0 victory at the River Hawks' expense. The inaugural season of the
Johnny Powell era concludes on a positive note as SU finished fourth in the Landmark Conference standings, making it as far as Thursday thanks to a 3-2 win over Moravian in Tuesday's Landmark opening round game.
HOW IT WENT DOWN
- Susquehanna competed valiantly against the three-time NCAA Division III champions and perennial Landmark winners. The first set was tied at 6-6 before Juniata went on a run. The River Hawks put up 16 points in the frame despite just four team kills in the box, taking advantage of several Eagles miscues.
- The orange and maroon found a groove in the second set, administering 11 kills for a .214 attack percentage in the set. Juniata still had the upper hand with 16 kills in the frame and a .351 attack percentage to take a 25-18 win.
- The River Hawks stormed out of the gate in set three with a 7-4 lead. While Juniata rebounded to regain the lead, Susquehanna was not too far behind, giving them trouble down the stretch. Susquehanna's stellar play gave them a late 21-20 lead, but the Eagles held on for a 25-22 win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Senior defensive specialist and libero Jessica Sack finished her career in an orange and maroon uniform with 15 digs Thursday, giving her 1,683 for her career for fifth all-time in the SU record books. Her 632 digs this season comes in at sixth all-time.
- Kyndall Mason also completed a noteworthy career, contributing three kills on the night for 357 kills and 47 service aces, including 37 service aces this season.
- Susquehanna was afforded some scoring opportunities as Juniata was guilty of 11 service errors. By the same token, the Eagles' serving took the River Hawks for nine service aces, with the visitors managing two aces on the night.
- The River Hawks' front line made themselves useful all night with eight total blocks. Addison Dodge carried out four total blocks with two solo, while senior Katelyn Dugery had two total blocks with one solo and one total block each from Emma Willow, Sami Kline, Kyndall Mason, and Stella Robinson.
- Valerie Stoltz, Mason, and Robinson each had three kills, while in the assists category Elliott Schleicher had 15 and Sarah Murphy four.
- Kline led with six kills and a .231 hitting percentage, while Dodge had five kills and a .182 hitting percentage.
- Callie Wince had both of the team's two service aces. The River Hawks had just four service errors on the night.
- The River Hawks had 22 kills on the evening with a .130 hitting percentage, whereas the Eagles had 50 kills for a .269 hitting percentage.
WRAPPING UP THE YEAR
- The River Hawks showed enormous growth this season under new head coach Johnny Powell. After an 0-10 start against formidable competition, Susquehanna settled in and got hot to start its Landmark Conference season at 4-0. They won five Landmark matches, with two of their conference defeats coming down to five sets.
