Men’s Volleyball Takes Down Eastern Mennonite In Three Sets

HARRISONBURG, VA- The #5 Juniata men's volleyball team took on Eastern Mennonite in a CVC match on Friday night at Yoder Arena. Juniata dominated for the majority of the match on its way to a 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-19) victory.

The Eagles have won six matches in a row and improve to 14-2 overall and 6-0 in the CVC. The Royals fall to 5-4 on the year and 2-3 in the conference.

Justin Waldorf (Eden, NY/Eden) paced the offense with nine kills. Matthew Kinnebrew (Lansdowne, VA/Stonebridge) added seven kills. Matt Elias (Lansdale, PA/North Penn) had 17 assists and three service aces to lead the Eagles. Waldorf and Tommy Keisling (Sewickley, PA/North Allegheny) led defensively with six digs.

The Royals got the first two points of the first match before Juniata settled down and ripped off a 7-1 run to go ahead 7-3. EU got to within 11-8 before the Eagles went on a 6-0 run to go ahead 17-8. Juniata ended the set on an 8-3 run to come out with the win.

In the second set, the Royals scored the first point but Juniata rattled off eight straight points to leap ahead 8-2.  Eastern Mennonite was able to chip away at JC's lead and got to within 12-8 but the Eagles again pounded away at the Royals with a 7-0 run to go up 19-8.  Juniata again was just too good in the end as it won by seven points.

JC picked up where it left off in the third set as it rolled to a 6-0 advantage. The Royals were able to keep it interesting as they closed the gap to 16-11. Five straight points by the Eagles increased their lead to 21-11. Eastern Mennonite was able to close to five points, 24-19, but Keisling slammed the door on the Royals attempt at a comeback with a kill to end the game and give the Eagles the victory.

Juniata next heads to Arlington, VA on Saturday for a match with Marymount. Start time is set for 7 p.m. Two weeks ago at Memorial Gymnasium, the Eagles took out the Saints 3-0.