Men’s Volleyball defeated by #7 Carthage In Season Opener, 3-0

SPRINGFIELD, OH- After having their season delayed by a week, the #9 Juniata men's volleyball team finally got things started on Friday night as they participated in the Jim Coleman Invitational at Wittenberg College. The Eagles rallied in the third set but ultimately fell to #7 Carthage 3-0.

Juniata trailed 2-0 as the third set began. The Redmen led 9-3 early in the frame but JC battled back with a 10-2 run to take a 13-11 lead. The Eagles led 16-3 before Carthage rattled off four straight points to go up 17-16.  Back-to-back kills from Chad Albert (Cranberry Township Pa./Seneca Valley) restored the advantage to the Blue and Gold but Carthage again would respond to tie the match at 18-all.

The Eagles went up 20-18 and looked to gain some momentum. After a kill from Matt Vasinko (Loyalhanna, Pa./Derry Area), Juniata was up 22-20 but five points from Carthage gave them the victory.

"We came out slow and once we got settled in we played well," said head coach Pat Shawaryn afterwards. "They (Carthage) are a very good team and we are stil figuring some things out. We will hopefully rebound well tomorrow and go from there."

Quinn Peterson (Las Vegas, Nev./ Shadow Ridge) led the Eagles with 10 kills on the night. Albert added seven. Brendan Smith (Fuquay-Varina, N.C./Fuquay-Varina) led the defense with eight digs while Ryan Shelton (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) contributed seven. Shelton also picked up 23 assists.

Juniata is back in action tomorrow afternoon. The Eagles play Mount St. Joseph at 1 p.m. and then face the host Tigers at 3 p.m.