By: Jennifer Jones
Director of Sports Information
jonesj@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
Photo: Cat Scholl
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – No. 1 Juniata College men's volleyball improved to 21-3 Wednesday night with its 3-0 sweep of Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) rival Thiel College. The Eagles improved to 8-0 in conference with the win.
"I thought our hitters tonight did a great job of finding a soft spot in their zone," said head coach Pat Shawaryn. "Our pin hitters found the seams in their defense."
Juniata was led by juniors Joe Bortak (Jeannette, Pa./Penn Trafford) and Paul Kuhn (York, Pa./Central York). Bortak earned a match-high 11 kills. Kuhn drilled 10 kills of his own and added a match and career-high five services aces.
"Paul's been playing well," added Shawaryn. "I think Paul has a great serve. With his big frame and long arms, he gets a good snap on the ball and it makes it difficult for teams to get a bead on it."
Kuhn also finished with a match-high three blocks. Sophomore Matt Elias (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) ran the offense. He collected a match-high 37 assists and finished just one dig shy of a double-double.
The Eagles took the first set handily, helped by a .524 team attack percentage and three service aces. Thiel regrouped during the break and came out pumped in set two. They led by as many as five before Juniata fought back.
Down four (14-10), senior Alex McColgin (Buffalo, N.Y./Hamburg) sided out with a kill and then assisted on a block with sophomore Chad Albert (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) and junior Justin Waldorf (Eden, N.Y./Eden) to pull the Eagles within two. The Tomcats sided out but Juniata responded with three straight kills of their own to tie the set up at 15-all. It would be tied twice more before the Eagles pushed four straight points and jumped out to a 21-17 lead. Thiel had survived three set points when McColgin picked up his seventh kill of the night to end the set.
The Eagles never trailed in set three to earn the win. They hit .407 as a team in the match and out-killed the Tomcats 45-25.
Juniata hits the road next. The Eagles travel to Hilbert College for a tri-match with the Hawks and Penn State Altoona on Saturday, March 29. They face host Hilbert at 2 p.m. before taking on the Lions at 4 p.m. Juniata has swept Hilbert both times they've faced this season and are 4-0 against them all-time. This will be the Eagles first meeting with Penn State Altoona in 2014. They lead the all-time series 2-0.
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