HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Catholic volleyball team wrapped up its weekend with a tri-match hosted by No. 5 Juniata. The Cardinals took on both the Eagles and Messiah, falling short in both matches 3-0 to drop to 7-12 on the season.

MATCH ONE - Juniata 3, Catholic 0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-15)

The Cardinals hung tough in the first set and got out to a 5-2 lead early, aided by a pair of kills from Julia Turchiano. Catholic used a 4-1 run in the middle of the set to pull things back even at 15 with two more kills from Turchiano and an ace from Alejandra Garcia. After Julia Raab delivered a kill to knot the set up at 17, the Eagles turned it on, taking eight of the last nine volleys to pull away and take the set, 25-18.

With a 1-0 lead, Juniata took the second set convincingly, 25-13, to set up a chance to sweep Catholic. The Eagles hit .519 with 17 kills in frame, both of which were match-highs. On the flip side, Juniata held Catholic to a -.080 hit percentage to cruise in the set.  

Catholic once again battled in the early stages of the third set and were down just 13-11 after a kill from Juliette Cummings. Raab had a kill later in the set to make it 19-15, but the Eagles once again went on a run, taking the last six points in the match to capture a 3-0 victory.

Turchiano led the team in kills with nine, while Raab finished with six. Anna Maria Carella totaled nine assists to lead Catholic in that category while Kate Berra finished just one shy of her with eight. Tanya Sichling was the only Cardinal to record multiple aces.

Garcia led the team in digs with eight and Sichling finished behind her with six.

MATCH TWO - Messiah 3, Catholic 0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-22)

Catholic used a 5-1 run in the opening set to take an 11-9 lead where Anna Maria Carella delivered a kill and Raab recorded back-to-back aces. After falling behind 21-16, Catholic used a 4-1 run to pull within two at 22-20 when Raab delivered three consecutive kills. The Falcons responded by taking the final three points of the set to take a 1-0 lead. 

The Falcons won the second set in convincing fashion 25-14 while hitting .333 with 17 kills on 33 attempts. Messiah used a 10-2 run in the middle of the set to storm ahead 23-12 and closed things out with a kill from Cynthia Boller.

Catholic was able to take a lead early in the third set, 7-2, helped out by kills from Erin Faughnan and Raab. Raab added two more kills later in the set to help the Cardinals regain the lead and Cummings also notched a kill to tie the set up at 19. After Faughnan picked up a kill to make it 23-22 Messiah late in the set, the Falcons recorded back-to-back kills to finish off the sweep, 25-22.

Raab led the team in kills in the second match with nine, followed by Faughnan and Cummings who both had four. Berra led the team with 10 digs and finished one assist shy of a double-double with nine. 

Marin Stensrud had a career-high nine digs in the match, while Garcia added eight more to her total on the day. Faughnan recorded two blocks with Alani Rivera Diaz adding one.

Catholic's next contest will be on Tuesday, October 14 at Goucher for another Landmark matchup. The match will start at 7 pm at the Decker Sports and Recreation Center Arena.