Eagles Take Two From Saints to Open CVC Play

ARLINGTON, Va.- The Juniata men's volleyball team won twice at Marymount, 3-0 (35-33, 26-24, 25-15) and 3-1 (26-24, 22-25, 25-23, 25-20), to open up conference play Saturday afternoon at Converse Family Fieldhouse.  

Set one of match one was tightly contested, with the Eagles holding a one-point lead at 17-16 before the saints rattled off five straight points to put JC in a four-point hole, 17-21. The Eagles responded with a four-point flurry as Marymount committed a service and an attack error, Max Cooley (Bethel Park, Pa. / Bethel Park H.S.)notched a kill and a block from Cooley, and Kevin Duffy (Carlisle, Pa. / Carlisle HS) tied things at 21. The teams then traded points several times, with Juniata fighting off, dropping set one six different times with the final time at 32-33. Jordan Orth-Moore (Annapolis, Md. / International School of Kenya) put down a kill, Tyler Goldsborough (Reading, Pa. / Exeter Township HS) got an ace to push JC to set point, and a Marymount ball-handling error ended set one, 35-33.  

Set two was another close affair, with the Eagles leading late at 23-19 before the Saint made their move, taking four straight points to knot things at 23-23. The teams traded points to get to 24, all before a block by Duffy and Austin Goodsel (Corry, Pa. / Fort Leboeuf HS) and a Goldsborough kill ended the second set 26-24.  

The third set saw the Eagles jump out ahead 9-4 early and cruise the rest of the way, as they eventually won on a block from Duffy and Cooley, 25-15, to take the first match. 

Duffy had a strong match as he tallied 11 kills (.667%) to go with one solo block and seven block assists. Robert Bowling (Columbus, Ohio / Hilliard Darby) added 11 kills (.364%), a service ace, five digs, and one block assist. Goodsel notched 40 assists and four block assists.  

Set one of the second match saw the Eagles trail almost the entire set, tying the score several times but not being able to take the lead. Marymount got to set point at 22-24 before a kill from Will Phelan (Saegertown, Pa. / Saegertown H.S.) and a bad set from the Saints tied the score at 24.  A block from Phelan and Duffy gave JC set point, and an attack error for the hosts helped the Eagles steal set one, 26-24. 

The second set saw the Saints again hold a narrow lead through most of the set, with a Paul Leech (Meadville, Pa. / Meadville Area Senior High) ace giving the Eagles a 15-14 lead for a moment. Marymount took the lead back before Phelan's kill again put JC ahead, 21-20. The Saints scored five the final six points of the set to win, 22-25, and tie the match at one set apiece.  

Juniata took an early lead in the third set, with a Bowling kill midway through, making it 17-13. The Saints rattled off three straight to get within one, but they could never pull even. The Eagles eventually got to set point on a Saints service error, with Marymount taking the next point via kill to make it 24-23. Juniata called timeout, and Phelan put down a kill to give Juniata the third set. 

Set four saw neither team lead by more than three at any point, with the Saints pulling even at 19-19. A Duffy block and two Bowling aces made it 22-19. Marymount called timeout and got a kill on the other side of it, but two more Duffy kills gave JC match point, and he combined with Goodsel to give Juniata the second win of the day.  

Bowling put together another strong match as he tallied 16 kills (.289%), two aces, five digs, and a block assist. Phelan tacked on 14 kills (.333%), two assists, six digs, and three block assists. 

The Eagles will take host Elmira for two matches next Saturday. Game times are 2:00 and 4:30.