By Kelsey Rogers, Staff Writer
The Susquehanna women’s volleyball team fell to Juniata in the Landmark Conference finals on Nov. 3 in Huntingdon.
The River Hawks were defeated in three sets with scores of 14–25, 18–25 and 16–25. Freshman middle/outside hitter Kody Dillon led the offense with six kills while junior middle hitter Hannah Lyons totaled five kills and two blocks.
Sophomore defensive specialist Lizzie Herestofa had nine digs, with freshman defensive specialist Megan Nelson and junior defensive specialist Kasey Bost contributing eight and six digs, respectively. Junior setter Lindsey Pugh had 13 assists against the Eagles.
Juniata quickly took control of the first set as they lead Susquehanna on a 7-0 run. A kill from junior middle hitter Veronica Kirchner would end the rally for Juniata, but the Eagles would regain control and win the set 25-14.
Susquehanna led the set 6-2 after two service aces by Dillon and Pugh. The River Hawks and the Eagles would battle for control of the game, tying several times until the Eagles gained seven of the next eight points and take the lead 21-15. They secured the set at 25-18.
A strong start in the third set placed Juniata at a 12-3. Susquehanna made a late push at the end of the set to narrow the Eagles’ lead to 23-16. Juniata quickly secured the match and the conference championship by scoring the next two points.
Lyons, Pugh and sophomore right-side hitter Sydney Portale were named to the All-Landmark Conference second team.
Lyons and Herestofa were named all-region east and all-region east honorable mention, respectively. Lyons led the team with 354 kills and 114 blocks. She also was named to the Midwest Invitiational All-Tournament team in October of this season.
Herestofa led the conference in digs with 611 and 4.66 digs per set, ranking her second in the conference and 18th in the nation. Portale , who was named to the team for the second year in a row, finished the season with 305 kills and 68 blocks on the season, which was second on the team behind fellow Landmark all-star Lyons.
With the loss, Susquehanna fell to 24–13 on the season while Juniata improved to 24–3 with the win in the conference title game. The Golden Eagles were the only team to beat the River Hawks in Landmark Conference play this season, defeating them once during the regular season and once during the playoffs. Both instances were 3–0 sweeps from Juniata.
The River Hawks will look to next year to attempt and capture their first ever Landmark Conference title.