Juniata   3, East Juniata 0

JUN 25 25 25

EJ      9  18  18

By Kenny Varner

COCOLAMUS – Juniata County rivalry week concluded Thursday as the East Juniata Volleyball team hosted cross county foe Juniata on their home court.

At stake were bragging rights until their next meeting.

The veteran Lady Indians were too much in the first match up of the year, winning 3-0 (25-9, 25-18, 25-18).

“It was a bit of a rollercoaster but I am happy with how it went. We switched our offensive system. It was our first time using it,” said Juniata coach Layne Greenholt. “I was expecting some bumps in the road but overall I liked how we played. We played really well. The second set is our Kryptonite. All season long.”

The Indians looked in prime form in the first contest as they were able to roll with a 25-9 victory.

However, despite a slow start in the first game, the young Tigers toughed it out throughout the final two games and battled to the end.

“I’m proud of them for coming back. I’m proud of them especially coming back in that third set,” said East Juniata coach Chloe Rougeau. “We got to focus on our offense. It wasn’t the best decision making. We just have to focus on that as well. They are growing everyday and that’s all I could ask for.”

Miley Hack had 18 service points in the contest en route to Juniata’s hard fought victory. Live from the front line for Juniata was the combination of Hannah Graybill and Mariska Whitesel. Both roamed the front line posting strong blasts to the middle and sinks and dunk plays from the net. Whitesel also had a strong night at the serving line as she posted seven points.

East Juniata’s Libby Hoffman was a force to be reckoned with in not only her front row play but also from the service line, helping her team stay close in the second and third games.

After taking game one, Juniata found themselves in a back-and-forth thriller for much of the contest.

With the game tied at 10, the Lady Indians went on a mini run that came off of a side out and two service points by Whitesel, putting them up 13-10.

East Juniata battled back thanks to a strong run at the service line by Emily Goodling who rolled off five consecutive service points to take a 18-15 advantage.

With the 18th East Juniata point, Juniata called a time out to regroup and get his players refocused with a game plan.

The time out was successful as the Lady Indians came back strong finishing out the scoring thanks to a 9-point run at the service line by Maddie Copeland, who with the side out, ended the game at 25-18.

Going into the third and final game, Juniata jumped out early to a quick 8-0 run and looked to make it a quick match. All eight points came from Hack.

But no one told the Lady Tigers as they slowly inched their way back into the contest with small runs while holding Juniata to just side out wins.

With nothing but pride to play for, East Juniata would get it as close as a 6-point lead before the Lady Indians would end the contest 25-18 for the second time on the night.