EAGLES FIGHT OFF THE LIONS OF BRYN ATHYN FOR 5TH WIN.

The Screaming Eagles played the host Bryn Athyn Lions in the 2^nd match of the day and the Eagles were hoping to continue their dominance of the Lions as the Eagles had won the previous 4 meetings.   The match was a close battle but the Eagles were able to overcome early deficits and be error free in the late stages of 3 sets to take the match in a tight fought 25-22, 22-25, 25-22, 25-21 victory.

The first set was decided late as Nicole Morera pounded out a kill with the score tied at 22 to give the Eagles a lead they would not relinquish.  2 aces by Amy Cooper sealed the set victory.

The second set brought much of the same.  Trailing 22-20, the Lions went on a 5-0 run fueled by a key Eagle service error and 2 attack errors to come from behind and win 22-25.

The Eagles were taken aback and  came out firing in the 3^rd set, taking an early 7-3 lead.  The Lions chipped away at the lead and overcame the deficit late in the set, jumping out to a 19-16 lead behind quick transition kills.

Two kills by Kiana Cunningham followed by a Kareemah Muhammad ace and a blocking Lion error gave CSE a 20-19 lead which ballooned to 22-20 after another Cunningham kill.  The Lions hit for 2 kills to tie up the score but a Nicole Morera kill followed by a couple of forced errors by the Lions sealed the set for the Eagles.

The fourth set got off to an auspicious start for CSE as numerous errors aided the Lions in jumping out to an 8-4 lead.  CSE settled down but the Eagles could not get a run going as the Lions stayed ahead 13-7 midway through the set.  A 5-0 run by CSE fueled by 2 aces by Amy Cooper pulled the Eagles within 2 after a Lion kill at 12-14.

Another ace by Nicole Morera sparked a quick run by the Eagles that saw the Lions get forced into numerous hitting errors and punctuated by a Subhana Wrights and Kareemah Muhammad block that gave CSE an 18-15 lead.

With the teams tied at 21,  the Eagles offense pounded out hit after hit that caused the Lion defense to scramble and prevented Bryn Athyn to run any quality offense.  The Lion hitting errors sealed the victory for the Eagles at 25-21.

Kiana Cunningham led the team with 11 kills and Captain Subhana Wrights added 9 kills but was a force at the net with 5 blocks.  Amy Cooper led the team with 5 aces and distributed 31 assists.  Katie Cooper led the team with 18 digs and she combined with Nicole Morera for 53/55 safe serve receptions as both players had a pass rating over 2.

Next up for the Eagles is Montclair State University on Tuesday, September 10^th, 7pm.