GREENVILLE, PA- The Juniata men's volleyball team travelled to Greenville for a weeknight tilt with Thiel College on Tuesday. The Eagles had no trouble with the Bobcats as they cruised to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-18) win and notched their first victory in Continental Volleyball Conference play. Overall JC improves to 9-2 while Thiel falls to 5-5.
Paul Kuhn (York, PA/Central York) notched a team-high 12 kills. Joe Bortak (Jeannette, PA/Penn Trafford) added 10 kills while Chad Albert (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) tallied nine. Bortak also had five block assists while Kuhn chipped in three block assists. Matt Elias (Lansdale, PA/North Penn) had 40 assists while Tommy Keisling (Sewickley, PA/North Allegheny) led the defense with 16 digs.
The Eagles broke a 4-4 tie in the first set with a 7-0 run to take an 11-4 lead. The cushion proved to be enough for Juniata as Thiel could get no closer than five points.
Much like the first frame, Juniata broke a stalemate in the second set to lead 15-7. The Tomcats got as close as six points but the Eagles again would outlast their opponent in the end to take the win.
The third set saw Thiel take an 8-7 lead. The Eagles fought back to take an 11-8 lead. Thiel would narrow the lead to two points, 12-10. The Eagles piled on four points to go up 16-10-14 and end the set with a 9-8 run to take the game and match.
Juniata returns to Memorial Gymnasium to face Marymount (Va.) in CVC play on Saturday. Match time will be at 7 p.m.
