HUNTINGDON, Pa.- Juniata men's volleyball hosted Vassar and Arcadia on Saturday afternoon in a tri-match at Memorial Gymnasium. The Eagles fell to the #4 Brewers 3-0 but defeated the Knights 3-0 in the last match of the day.
Looking for payback after falling in a five-set thriller in Poughkeepsie two weeks ago, the results of the first set looked like both teams were headed there once again. Juniata led 11-7 but the Brewers came back to to eventually tie the frame at 14-14. Seven more ties would follow as the two teams matched each other point for point.
With the set standing at 24-22 in Vassar's favor, the Eagles rallied with kills from Matt Vasinko (Loyalhanna, Pa./Derry Area) and Kyle Seeley (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) and a Vassar attack error to go up 25-24. The two teams traded off points with the Eagles sitting at match point 27-26. The Brewers picked up the last three points to claim the set 29-27.
Vassar got out to an 8-4 lead in the second set. Juniata was able to chip away at the deficit and eventually got ahead 17-16. The set would be tied at 18-18 but Vassar would outscore Juniata 7-4 to claim the frame 25-22.
The Eagles found themselves in a hole quickly in the third set as Vassar got ahead 8-1. The lead grew to 16-6 as the Brewers won 25-16 to take the match.
Quinn Peterson (Las Vegas, Nev./Shadow Ridge) led the JC offense with 12 kills. Vasinko added 10 kills and hit .364. Seeley chipped in eight kills and hit .429 for the match. Both Peterson and Vasinko tallied four digs. Michael Young (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake Village) accumulated 28 assists.
Against Arcadia, the Knights scored the first point of the match but Juniata rattled off six straight points to go ahead 6-1. The lead increased to 11-4 and 18-10 as the Eagles were comfortably ahead in the set and won 25-16.
Juniata led 11-7 in the second set but Arcadia scored five straight times to go ahead 12-11. An 11-3 Eagle run put the home team up 22-15. The Knights could get no closer than four points as JC claimed the set 25-20.
In the third set, Arcadia jumped on the Eagles 5-0 and increased its lead to 10-5. JC chipped away at the Knight lead and were able to tie the match at 11-11. Arcadia was able to get ahead 20-17 but the Eagles scored five times to go up 22-20. The Knights came back and were at set point, 24-23, but the Eagles picked up the last three points to take the set and the match.
Peterson led Juniata with seven kills. Seeley had four service aces while Chris Heron (Las Vegas, Nev./Arbor View) tallied two. Heron also had a team-best 10 digs. Young finished with 20 assists.
Juniata returns to Memorial Gymnasium on Tuesday night when it hosts Eastern Mennonite in a Continental Volleyball Conference match. Start time will be at 7:00 p.m.