HUNTINGDON, Pa.- Juniata men's volleyball hosted a Continental Volleyball Conference Tri-Match on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Gymnasium. In the Eagles' first match, Juniata defeated Marymount 3-1 (29-27, 25-17, 17-25, 25-19).
Juniata led in the first set 10-7 before the Saints rallied with four straight points to go up 11-10. The two teams would exchange the lead until Marymount went ahead 21-18. JC would go on to tie the match at 21-21 but again the teams would trade off points back and forth. The Eagles finally got the last two points they needed on error by the Saints to take the set and lead the match 1-0.
The Eagles had leads of 9-5 and 18-13 in the second set. Juniata outscored Marymount 7-4 down the stretch to claim the frame 25-17.
In the third set, the Saints led 7-4 early on. JC responded with a 7-2 run to go up 11-9 but a 9-0 Saints run erased any momentum that the Eagles had hoped to gain as the visitors went ahead 18-11. Juniata got as close as 21-16 but Marymount was too much as it went on to take the set 25-17.
Marymount led 6-5 in the fourth frame but Juniata rattled off four straight points to lead 9-6. The Saints eventually took the lead back and went ahead 16-15. With the set tied at 17-17, JC went on an 8-2 run to close out the frame and claim the set.
Quinn Peterson (Las Vegas, Nev./Shadow Ridge) led the Eagles in kills with 13 and in digs with 10. Matt Vasinko (Loyalhanna, Pa./Derry Area) added 11 kills. Kyle Seeley (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) picked up eight kills and six block assists. Michael Young (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake Village) finished with 40 assists and three block assists.
In Juniata's last match, the Eagles took down Alvernia 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-18). Peterson had a balanced performance with 15 kills, four digs, three service aces, and two block assists. Seeley chipped in 10 kills and two block assists. Young tallied 19 assists with Quinn Looper (Houston, Texas/Episcopal) contributing 16 assists.
The Eagles had a battle with the Crusaders in the first set. Juniata led 7-6 but got off a 7-2 run to jump ahead 14-8. Alvernia rallied back and was able to get the score to 18-17. The Crusaders were still within striking distance to take the lead at 22-23 but the Eagles got a kill from Peterson and an attack error on Alvernia to claim the set.
Juniata got out to an 8-2 lead in the second frame until once again, the Crusaders fought back with four straight points to make it 8-6. An 8-1 run by the Eagles further distanced themselves from the Crusaders as their lead stood at 16-7. The advantage grew to 20-9 as Juniata easily handled Alvernia to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
JC took an 11-3 lead in the third frame. Alvernia was able to get within five points of tying, 20-15, but was as close as it could get as Juniata would outlast the Crusaders and win the match.
Juniata (9-4, 4-0 CVC) will host next host Thiel this Tuesday. Match time will be at 7:00 p.m.