#1 Eagles Prevail Over Hunter and #13 Baruch
HUNTINGDON, PA- The Juniata men’s volleyball team was taken to five sets for the first time this season by visiting Hunter but a strong fifth game by the Eagles gave them a 3-2 victory (25-18, 25-14, 21-25, 22-25, 15-5). JC remains undefeated at 3-0 while the Hawks fall to 1-4.
On offense, Matthew Kinnebrew (Landsdowne, VA/Stonebridge) led the way with 16 kills. Joe Bortak (Jeannette, PA/Penn Trafford) added 13 kills while Paul Kuhn (York, PA/Central York) contributed 12 kills. Justin Waldorf (Eden, NY/Eden) chipped in 11 kills along with four service aces. Matt Elias (Lansdale, PA/North Penn) tallied 46 assists while Ryan Shelton (Baldwinsville, NY/Baldwinsville) had 13 assists. Elias also led on the defensive end with 13 digs. Chris Heron (Las Vegas, NV) put up 10 digs. Waldorf had eight digs while Kinnebrew and Kuhn each had five digs.
The Eagles scored the first four points of the first game to go up 4-0. The Hawks rallied to tie it up at 6-all.
The match was tied at 16-16 before the Eagles started to make their move. Five straight points gave then a 21-16 cushion. The Hawks would get as close as 21-18, but the Eagles secured the final four points they need for the win.
In the second set, JC had advantages of three and four points early on. The Juniata lead grew to as much as 21-10 as the Eagles easily took the frame.
The next two sets went Hunter's way and the match was tied 2-2. Now in a fifth set, the Eagles showed domination as they cruised to a decisive 15-5 win to claim the match.
The Eagles went up against #13 Baruch in the evening match. The Bearcats proved to be a tough out but Juniata prevailed in the end with a 3-1 victory (25-23, 25-15, 24-26, 25-17).
Bortak led the offense with 13 kills and had .522 hitting percentage. Chad Albert (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) contributed 11 kills and hit .522. Kuhn had eight kills. Defensively, Albert picked up seven assisted blocks. Waldorf led in digs with 10 while Kuhn added five.
Despite playing a five-set match earlier in the day, the Bearcats kept it close with the Eagles in their first set. It was 21-16 Juniata before Baruch narrowed the deficit to 22-20. Twice it got to a one-point differential, 23-22 and 24-23, but Albert's kill secured the final point that the Eagles needed to win and take a 1-0 lead.
Juniata led throughout the second set and Baruch never threatened as the Eagles won to go ahead 2-0. The third set was a different story as the Bearcats scored the first four points to go up 4-0. Baruch's advantage never grew to more than five points as JC kept it close. The Eagles were able to tie the game at 24-all after an attack error by Baruch's Brady Ambro. The Bearcats got a point back on Kinnebrew's service error and won on a kill by Nick Smith.
Juniata put up a much better effort in the fourth frame. The Eagle got out to a 6-0 lead early one and never looked back as it won by eight points.
Kuhn and Bortak were both named to the All-Tournament Team. In four matches, he totaled 35 kills, one assist, one service ace, 14 digs and one block assist. Bortak's line read 38 kills, one assist, one service ace, six digs, two solo blocks, and 11 block assists. Most Valuable Player honors went to Albert. He had an impressive 23 kills, three assists, five digs, three solo blocks, and 19 block assists.
Juniata will head on the road to Illinois to Dominican College to go up against Benedictine next Friday night at 7 p.m. local time. The Eagles then face the host Stars at 9 p.m. local time.