Men’s volleyball posts wins over D’Youville and Elmira at Nazareth Golden Flyer tourney

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Juniata College men's volleyball took a pair of victories out of day one action at the Nazareth College Golden Flyer Invitational, Friday afternoon in Rochester, N.Y. 

Juniata opened play with a 3-1 win over D'Youville College, taking the match by set scores of 23-25, 25-12, 25-19, and 25-15.  The Eagles finished up day one action with a 3-2 victory over Elmira College, winning by set scores of 21-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-23, and 15-9.

Senior middle Ben Wolff (Meadville, Pa./Meadville) was both Juniata's kills leader and its most efficient hitter in the win over D'Youville, putting down nine kills on 14 error-free swings. Mike Kraft (York, Pa./Eastern York) and Brian Jaron (Severna Park, Md./Mount St. Joseph) notched eight kills each, while Ross Madden (Richmond, Va./Deep Run) and Paul Ejups (Bay Shore, N.Y./West Islip) each tacked on six kills.

Wolff and Joe Bortak (Jeannette, Pa./Penn Trafford) each had four total blocks to aid the Juniata cause.

John Almquist (York, Pa./Central York) had 35 assists while running a Juniata offense that hit .300 for the match, and libero Eric McCarthy (Villa Park, Ill./Willowbrook) sprawled for nine digs.

Wolff again proved to be the sparkplug in the Juniata offense against Elmira, logging 11 terminations on 16 swings with no errors while recording six total blocks.

Madden and Jaron added nine kills, with Ejups logging eight. Bortak registered five total blocks for the Eagles. 

Almquist again ran the Juniata offense efficiently, as the Eagles hit .360 for the match with Almquist finishing with 27 assists.

Juniata will face MIT on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 12:00 p.m., followed by a single playoff match at either 2:00 p.m. or 4:00 p.m.

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