Eagles Sink Vikings to Start the Season

SPRINGFIELD, OH- The Juniata men's volleyball team opened their season with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-13) victory over Augustana (IL) Friday afternoon at Pam Evans Smith Arena on the campus of Wittenberg. 

The Vikings captured the opening set after keeping the Eagles at bay for most of the opening set, as they led 19-22 late. A kill from Sean Cavanagh (Cranberry Twp., Pa. / Seneca Valley), another from Robert Bowling (Columbus, Ohio / Hilliard Darby) and Augustana committed an attack error. The Vikings took the final two points to clinch the first set. 

The second set was close early, with Juniata trailing by one, 11-12. Three Viking attack errors and a Will Hafen (Saegertown, Pa. / Saegertown H.S.) ace put Juniata into the lead for good. The Vikings got within one two more times, with the last time occurring at 20-19 and the Eagles called timeout. Bowling put down two kills and the Vikings committed another attack error as the Eagle lead stretched to four. The teams traded points following an Augustana to get JC to set point, with a David Hibner (Burke, Va. / Lake Braddock Secondary) kill ending the set and tying the match at 1-1. 

The third set saw Juniata hit .429 as they surged ahead early and never looked back. with the score at 4-4, a 12-5 push made it 16-9. The Vikings never got closer than seven the rest of the set, with a kill from Kevin Duffy (Carlisle, Pa. / Carlisle HS) ending the set 25-17.  

The domination continued into the fourth set as the Eagles opened with an 11-4 run. With the score at 5-4 following a service error: an error from the Vikings, a kill from Duffy, an ace from Joe Fick (Venetia, Pa. / Peters Township), and a kill from Cavanagh forced an Augustana timeout. Another attack error and a kill from Fick had Juniata on their way. The Eagles cruised the rest of the way, with two straight kills from Cavanagh ending the match.

Juniata will take on Wittenberg at 8:00.