Tartans Bring Energy, Battle No. 1 Juniata to 3-1 Loss

Tartans Bring Energy, Battle No. 1 Juniata to 3-1 Loss

(HUNTINGDON, Pa.) - For the second straight match, the Carnegie Mellon University volleyball team faced the number one team in the country as they traveled to Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, to face the top-ranked Eagles of Juniata College Friday, October 23. The 24th-ranked Tartans (22-6) took game two from the Eagles (25-1) but ultimately fell 3-1 in the non-conference showdown between regionally ranked opponents.

The Eagles won game one 25-18 before the Tartans took game two, 25-21. In the second game, the Tartans put down 14 kills and were led by freshman Sarah Jurgens' (Eagan, Minn./Eagan) five kills. The third set was another back-and-forth match as the Eagles won 25-19 after taking a 20-16 lead following a 15-15 tie.

In the fourth game, a kill by junior Jackie Gibbons (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) gave the Tartans a 10-9 lead but the one-loss Eagles scored seven straight points and then took game four, 25-18, to close out the match.

Gibbons led the Tartan attack with 12 kills and a hitting percentage of .455 while Jurgens finished with 11 kills. Junior setter Emily Newton (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Chadwick School) picked up 31 assists while also scoring three service aces and recording 10 digs. Junior Molly Higgins (Vero Beach, Fla./Vero Beach) led the defense with 21 digs as sophomore Eliza Donohue (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) had two block solos and two block assists.

The Tartans return to action on Saturday, October 24 at Juniata against Geneva College at 2:00 p.m. and Bridgewater College at 4:00 p.m.