Top-Seeded Eagles Rise to Challenge by Gophers

Smith Goes Out with Nine Kills, Boosting Career Total to 1,563

HUNTINGDON, Pa. — Goucher got its shot at preventing Juniata from winning a third consecutive Landmark Conference title today, but the Eagles were up to the challenge and pinned a 3-0 setback on head coach Michael Bossom's Gophers in the semifinals of the 2009 Landmark Conference postseason tournament.

Set scores were 25-17, 25-15, 25-17.

The only time the Gophers were ahead in the first set was when, with the score tied at 2-2, they picked up a point on a kill by Kasey Quinn (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial). The Eagles, the likely new No. 1 when a new set of Division III national rankings come out, responded by scoring seven of the next eight points to assume a 9-4 lead.

A service ace by Juniata's Shelby Cassell — one of 13 aces for the Eagles (30-3) in the match — brought the opening set to an end.

Juniata seized control of the second game with a 10-4 run that turned a three-point advantage (7-4) into a 17-8 cushion.

The first time in the entire match that the fourth-seeded Gophers (17-12) were ahead by more than a point was early in the third set when a kill by Carolyn Crissey (Philadelphia, Pa./Creative & Performing Arts) made the score 3-1 in Goucher's favor. The top-seeded Eagles took the lead for good at 8-7 on a hitting error.

In the final match of her career, Megan Smith (Honolulu, Hawaii/Long Beach Polytechnic) supplied the Gophers with nine kills. She made only one error in 23 attack chances to finish with a .348 hitting percentage.

The senior outside hitter, who began the 2009 campaign as Goucher's all-time leader in kills, added 417 to her total this season to bring her career total to 1,563.

Claire Sauvage-Mar (New Delhi, India/American Embassy School) picked up an assist on 23 of the 25 kills the Gophers were credited with in the match and ended the season with 833 assists.