Knights Ground Eagles
BUENA VISTA, Va.- The #1 Juniata men's volleyball team lost on the road to #9 Southern Virginia 3-0 (23-25, 18-25, 21-25) Friday evening inside Knight Arena.
Octavian Sperry led the way with 12 kills, an ace, an assist, and seven digs, while Tyler Phillips totaled seven kills, seven digs, and a block assist. Dante Palombo had four aces, a kill, and two block assists.
Juniata was locked in early, jumping ahead 8-3. The Knights responded with seven consecutive points to take a two-point lead, 8-10. The teams went back and forth, with the Eagles pulling even at 20 on a Sperry kill. SVU took the next three points and, after an exchange of errors, reached set point 21-24. A Chris Mellor kill and a Sperry ace extended the set before an error ended it, 23-25.
In set two, Southern Virginia extended their lead to six midway through, 11-17, and coasted the rest of the way to take the set 18-25.
JC battled hard to try and extend the match in the third, and kept things close, as a Mellor kill made it 14-14. The Knights scored the next three points and held off the Eagles the rest of the way. Sperry's kill made it 21-23, but the Knights took the next two points to wrap up the match.
Juniata will return to action next weekend against Mount Union.