HUNTINGDON, PA – The University of Rochester volleyball team closed out its weekend at the Juniata Invitational with a pair of matches against #23 ranked Johns Hopkins and Messiah.
 
Rochester was defeated 3-0 by Johns Hopkins in the opener, 25-10, 25-11 and 25-21, before falling 3-0 to Messiah, 25-17, 25-23 and 25-22.  Rochester is now 8-11 on the season.  UR's next matches are slated for a week from Sunday at UAA Round Robin #2 in Atlanta against NYU and Washington-St. Louis.
 
In the JHU match, the Blue Jays took a stranglehold from the start and never looked back, jumping out to an early 8-2 lead in the first set.  In the second, it was more of the same, with JHU holding an 11-4 lead.  Trailing 9-3 early in the third, Rochester mounted a rally, getting within 19-18, but the unbeaten Blue Jays were able to hold of the Yellowjackets, securing the sweep and a 14th win of the season.
 
Allie DeRubertis and Beth Ghyzel each had five kills for UR.  Renae Lapins had eight assists, while Sonia McGaffigan chipped in three blocks.  Sara Apanavicius had 11 digs, while DeRubertis had seven and Ghyzel added five.
 
Against Messiah, the Yellowjackets fell behind early in the first set, with Messiah leading by as many as nine, up 13-4.  Rochester battled back though, rattling off six straight points to pull within three, dowing 18-15 following a block and kill from Kellie McCrea.  Messiah edged further ahead though, and then took the set after winning the final five points in a row.
 
In the second, it was back and forth throughout, with neither team getting ahead by my than three for the first 30 points of the set.  With Rochester up 18-16 following a 4-1 spurt, Messiah rattled off six straight points to surge ahead 22-18.  The teams traded the next four points to make the score 24-20 Messiah, but Rochester then scored three in a row to trim the lead to one before Messiah's Mary Underman finished off the set win with a kill.
 
The third set was more of the same, with the teams battling within three points of each other throughout.  At 20-all, Messiah would score five of the next seven points to close out the win.
 
Four players had six or more kills for Rochester in the nightcap. McGaffigan and McCrea each had seven kills, while Tamera Shaw and Ghyzel had six.  Lapins and Isabelle Miranda were the setters, handing out 14 and 13 assists respectively.  DeRubertis had nine digs while Ghyzel and Apanavicius each had eight.  McCrea was UR's representative on the All-Tournament team.