Men’s Volleyball Splits Matches on Second Day of Juniata Invitational

HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata men's volleyball team split two matches on the final day of competition at the Juniata Invitational. In their first match, the Eagles dropped a 3-0 (23-25, 20-25, 11-25) decision to #2 SUNY New Paltz. JC rebounded in their second match as it defeated #14 Hunter 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 23-25, 25-22).

Against New Paltz, Kyle Seeley (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) led the offense with 11 kills. Quinn Looper (Houston, Texas/Episcopal) had 24 assists and five digs.

After getting two tough wins the night before, the Eagles had a tall task in front of them in the form the Hawks. Juniata held its own in the first set. With the match tied at 4-4, JC put up four straight points to go ahead 8-4. Their lead went to 9-5 but New Paltz slowly crept its way back in. Juniata's lead never went below a point and stayed that way until 17-16. The Hawks tied then went ahead 18-17. Their lead grew to 24-20 and the Eagles got to within one point of tying the set but New Paltz got a kill from Anthony Bonilla to come away with the set victory.

Much like the first set, the Eagles led in the second by as much as 14-9. The Hawks rattled off five straight points to tied it all up at 14-14. The two teams would exchange points but at 19-18, New Paltz went on a 6-2 run to close out the frame and go ahead 2-0 in the match.

The third set was all New Paltz. Juniata kept it close early as they trailed only 7-5  but the Hawks broke open the game with a 12-3 run to go up 19-8 and easily took the set and the match.

Against Hunter, the Eagles fared much better. Juniata started out hot as it went ahead 4-0. The Hawks would make it interesting as they closed the gap to tie the set at 7-7 until a 5-1 JC run gave it a 12-8 lead. The Eagle advantage grew to 18-12 but the Hawks were able to keep it interesting as they got to 23-22. A service error put Juniata at match point. Benjamin Crusinberry's kill made it 24-23 but another service error on Hunter gave the point and set to Juniata.

In the second set, Juniata broke an 8-8 tie with a 6-1 run to lead 14-9. The Hawks kept it close at 20-18 but the Eagles 5-1 run to end the set would give them a 2-0 lead in the match.

JC led in the third frame by as much as 14-10. Hunter began to chip away at the lead and with the Eagles ahead 22-21, put up three straight points to go up 24-22. A Stephen Ash (Elk Grove, Calif./Cosummes Oaks) kill brought the score to 24-23 but the Hawks would respond with a kill of their own to take the set.

Similar to the second set, the Eagles broke an 8-8 tie in the fourth with a 4-0 run to bring their lead to 12-8. The lead increased to 19-13 but the Hawks rallied to get the score to 23-21. Kills from Seeley, with a Juniata service error mixed in, was all JC needed to take the set and match.

Seeley put up 22 kills to go along with 15 digs. Matt Vasinko (Loyalhanna, Pa/Derry Area) added 14 kills. Looper led with 21 digs to go with his 49 assists. Brendan Smith (Fuquay-Varina, N.C./Fuquay-Varina) chipped in 14 digs.

Smith and Chad Albert (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) were both named to the All-Tournament Team. Hunter's Joseph Muir, Lasell's Patrick McDonald, and Nazareth's Tim Zyburt joined them. New Paltz's Joe Norman was also selected to the All-Tournament team while Steven Woessner garnered MVP honors.

The Eagles head on the road next weekend for a pair of Continental Volleyball Conference matches. Juniata plays Rutgers-Newark next Friday at 7 p.m. followed by Cairn on Saturday at 1 p.m.