The University of Mary Washington volleyball team survived three tight games to defeat Eastern University, 25-22, 25-17, 25-18, on Friday night in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament at Ron Rosner Arena. The Eagles improve to 26-7 on the season, and advance to Saturday's third round.

The Eagles jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead in the first, and survived several Eastern runs to take the first, 25-22. In the second, it was Eastern who gained the early advantage, and UMW battled back to take the lead midway through, and sprinted to the finish for a 25-17 win. UMW hit a blistering .343 in the second. The home team again survived several runs in the third for a 25-18 victory in the decisive game.

"We say all the time that volleyball is a game of runs", said UMW head coach Alex Hinsey. "We try to be the team that gets the last run, and we were fortunate to do that tonight. Eastern is a great team and is coached very well, so we knew we were going to have a challenge this evening."

Junior middle hitter Caitlyn Burch led Mary Washington with 12 kills in 22 attempts, while Crosen scored 10 without an error in 18 attempts. Junior all-region hitter Jordan Lyons scored 10 kills, and scored 14 digs, surpassing 500 for the season. Sophomore setter Lauren Foley scored 24 assists and junior Brenna Campbell added 14, and Foley also registered two service aces. Burch had five total blocks and Lyons added three for the Eagle attack.

The Eagles will move on to the third round on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. against Johns Hopkins University, who defeated Stevens institute of Technology, 3-0, on Friday. Saturday's winner will advance to the national quarterfinals next week in Pittsburgh, Pa.