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Box Score - Susquehanna | Box Score - Juniata
SELINSGROVE, Pa. - History was made by the University of Scranton volleyball team on Saturday afternoon in their Landmark Conference regular-season finale, as the Royals shocked Juniata in a five-set thriller (20-25, 24-26, 25-12, 25-18, 15-13) to hand the Eagles their first loss all-time in regular and postseason Landmark Conference play, dating back to the beginning of the Landmark in 2007.
The victory snapped an 85-match Landmark Conference winning streak for Juniata, and also sewed up the second seed in the upcoming Landmark playoffs for Scranton, who will host a match inside the John Long Center on Wednesday night.
Earlier in the day, Scranton dropped a four-set decision to host Susquehanna (14-25, 19-25, 25-18, 18-25). With the results, the Royals ends their 2017 regular season with a 34-4 overall mark and finish 5-1 in the Landmark Conference. The 34-4 mark is the best ever in program history to conclude a regular season.
In the Juniata win, the Royals fell behind 2-0, dropping a tough 26-24 decision in the second set to go down 2-0 to the Eagles. But, the Royals clawed their way back with dominating performances in the third and fourth sets.
After rolling to a 13-point win in the third game, Scranton put together a 5-0 run in the middle of the action in the fourth game that put them up for good at 20-14. The seven-point victory in the game then sent the match to a decisive five set.
There, Juniata looked like they were ready to take control and finish off the match, as they opened up a 12-8 lead late. But, with their backs against the wall, the Royals rallied, taking four points in a row to tie the match back up at 12-12.
Following a Juniata point that put the Eagles back up, 13-12, Scranton dropped the hammer on Juniata.
First, junior Megan Monastra (West Chester, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) slammed home a kill, then, sophomore Victoria Capogna (Farmingdale, N.Y./St. Anthony's) clinched the match by herself, delivering back-to-back kills to finish off the Eagles, handing Scranton a dramatic come-from-behind win.
Overall, junior Kristin Kirwan (Park Ridge, N.J./Immaculate Heart Academy) led the Royals attack in the historic win, finishing with a double-double of 16 kills and 16 digs. Monastra finished the match with 12 kills, while senior Catherine Manning (Eastchester, N.Y./Eastchester) had nine kills.
Setting up the Royals attack all match was freshman Kindler Norman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair), who finished with 43 assists. Fellow freshman Regina Schetroma (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East) had 17 digs to lead the way, while senior Morgan Rentzheimer (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) had 16 digs. Fellow senior Erica Byrne (Whitestone, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) finished with 10 digs to round out the top performers for Scranton.
In their first match of the day, Scranton could not come back from a 2-0 deficit, as Susquehanna came out on top, 3-1, handing the Royals their lone loss in Landmark Conference play for the year.
In the defeat, Kirwan finished with 12 kills, while Capogna had 10 kills. Norman ended with 26 assists and three solo blocks up front, while Schetroma had 18 digs to pace the defense.
The second-seeded Royals, however, will have a chance to exact revenge on Susquehanna on Wednesday night, as the program hosts their first Landmark Conference Semifinal match all-time against the third-seeded Riverhawks. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
More information on the match will be posted to athletics.scranton.edu as the week progresses.
--ROYALS--
