Ann Arbor, MI - The Eagles Women's Volleyball team opened up the 2024-25 campaign with a tri-match up in Ann Arbor, Michigan today. 

In the first match, JU took on the host, Concordia, and the two teams went back and forth all afternoon. Ultimately, it was Concordia taking the 5-set win over Judson. 

Interestingly, the closest set was a 4 point margin between the two teams. Concordia took set 1 and 3, 25-16 and 25-21. The Eagles took set 2 and 4, 25-16 and 25-16. 

Looking to complete the comeback, Judson took the first three points in the fifth set, led 4-1, and 5-2, before Concordia closed to win 15-8. 

Senior leader, Alyssa Gerzel was dominant in game one, posting 23 kills and 18 digs. The other returning starter from a season ago, Yomailis Fernandez had 14 kills and 25 digs in the five set thriller. 

Newcomers Jaclyn Riedl and Reese McCutchan added 18 kills and 13 digs respectively. McCutchan also posted 42 assists in her first collegiate contest. 

In game two, Judson took on a young Kuyper team and came away with a 3 set victory for their first win of the season. 

In the match, new faces Anabella Wuthrich and Natalie Dalton contributed with five kills each. Andreah Cisneros and Cordellia Gardner combined for 15 of the team's 25 aces in the match. 

"It was nice to come away with at least one victory today," said Head Coach Alyssa Wido. "It is a young season, and it was just as important being able to get playing time for a lot of the players, get them reps, and experience for the long season."

The Eagles are replacing five of their seven starters from a year ago, (including the libero) and reloading talent will surely take a few games to get in sync. 

Judson will return home to host their own quad this Saturday inside of the Lindner Center on what is the campus' Welcome Weekend. 

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