HAVERFORD, PA - The Crimson Eagles unprecedented run into postseason play came to an end Thursday afternoon, as the women's volleyball team ran into extremely talented Juniata squad in the first round of NCAA playoffs.
To say that PBU played an experienced team at Haverford College in their first ever Tournament game would probably be an understatement. The Crimson Eagles not only took the floor against the defending national champions, but were also facing a team that has won an astonishing 27 straight conference titles to go along with 27 straight NCAA tournament appearances dating back to 1980. As if that isn't enough, the Eagles entered the game with a number two ranking nationally and also benefit from the services of two junior All-Americans in Amber Thomas and Beth Kozak.
Needless to say, the Crimson Eagles had their hands full, and PBU began play in their first ever NCAA tournament against Juniata with some first game jitters. The Blue and Gold rattled off the first 13 successive points of the contest to take a commanding 13-0 lead midway through the first match. Although the Crimson Eagles began to warm up in the next several minutes, the deficit they were facing proved to be too big as the final score of the first set ended 30-13.
In the second game PBU looked more confident and opened the set by staying right on Juniata's heels, trailing only 6-5 through the first 11 points. However, Juniata's front line soon took over as the Eagles claimed the next seven out of eight points to help distance themselves from PBU en route to a 30-19 victory in Juniata's favor.
The final game was somewhat closer as PBU actually held a 12-5 lead at one point. Several runs by Juniata, however, soon closed the gap as the Eagles eventually ran away with a 30-23 victory in the final set to help propel Juniata to their 34th win of the season and into the second round of the tournament.
During the three games, Juniata managed to limit PBU to their worst attacking percentage output of the season (.000). The veteran Eagles also held fairly significant advantages in team kills (42-25), digs (60-33), and assists (41-22).
Freshman Caitlin Hess finished the match with nine kills and six total blocks, sophomore Betsy Ranck ended with 18 assists, two digs, and one ace, and senior Becky Williams completed her last match as a Crimson Eagle with four kills, eight digs, and one ace.
After a tremendous season in which the Crimson Eagles broke numerous program records and set the standard for women's volleyball and PBU athletics as a whole in future years, the Crimson Eagles will say goodbye to seniors Meg Jasper, Becky Williams, Angela Kresge, and Natalie Nolt, who all completed their final season of play for PBU.
The volleyball team finished with a final record of 30-9.
