LANCASTER, Pa.-The Juniata men's volleyball team lost on the road to #12 Lancaster Bible, 3-1 (25-20, 18-25, 16-25, 25-27), Friday evening at Horst Athletic Center.
The Eagles got off to a quick start as they went up 11-6. The Chargers got close, pulling within one at 14-13 before a service error, a block by Joe Fick (Venetia, Pa. / Peters Township) and an attack error made it 17-13. The Chargers called timeout, but to no avail as the Eagles cruised to a 25-20 set one win.
The second set saw Juniata fall behind early before rattling off five straight points to retake the lead. A service error, an attack error and a bad set all by Lancaster Bible along with a kill from Quinn Peterson (Las Vegas, Nev. / Shadow Ridge) and Fick ace made it 9-8. The Chargers retook the lead on and error and an ace, and never looked back. The Eagles stayed close, but the hosts scored the final four points to tie things with a 18-25 set two win.
Juniata took a small lead early on in set three with kills from Leland Hacecky (Ashburn, Va. / Stone Bridge) and Peterson and a block by Fick and David Hibner (Burke, Va. / Lake Braddock Secondary) to make it 5-4. The teams traded points as another Fick swing made it 6-5, but the Chargers responded with five straight points to put the Eagles in a 6-10 hole. JC couldn't recover, as they dropped set three 16-25.
Trying to force a decisive fifth set, the Eagles pushed ahead 8-6, but another charge from the Chargers made it 8-11. This time the Eagles had a counter, with a 7-2 push of their own make it 15-13. The teams remained tight for the rest of the set, with three straight Lancaster Bible points making 22-23. An attack error by the Chargers followed by an Eagle service error made it 23-24 as the Eagles were on the brink. A Peterson kill saved them for a moment, but the Chargers smashed another ball to again reach match point. This time Fick kept the Eagles hopes of a fifth set alive to make it 25-25, but that was the Eagle's final point as the Chargers took the final two points to win 25-27.
The Eagles will return to action Saturday at St. Joseph's (L.I.) at 12:00.