PATCHOGUE, NY.- The Juniata men's volleyball team ended up on the wrong end of a five-set match against St Joseph's, 2-3 (25-22, 24-26, 18-25, 25-18, 12-15), Saturday morning at the Danzi Center.
The first set saw the teams trade the lead back and forth as neither team could separate. Juniata pulled ahead 14-13 with a kill from Kevin Duffy (Carlisle, Pa. / Carlisle HS), and would never trail again. The Golden Eagles got within one multiple times, but Juniata would not surrender the lead. With the score at 21-20, a Joe Fick (Venetia, Pa. / Peters Township) kill paired with a St. Joseph's attack error forced a Golden Eagle timeout. St. Joseph's got one back before another Duffy kill gave the Eagles set point. Following a Golden Eagle kill and a JC timeout, Duffy ended the opening set for the Eagles, 25-22, with his second straight kill. Juniata hit a blistering .704 in the set.
The second set saw Juniata facing a narrow deficit late, 20-23. A kill from Leland Hacecky (Ashburn, Va. / Stone Bridge) was followed by one by the Golden Eagles to put them at set point, but the Eagles didn't back down. A Fick kill and a block by David Hibner (Burke, Va. / Lake Braddock Secondary) and Quinn Peterson (Las Vegas, Nev. / Shadow Ridge) made it 23-24. St. Joseph's called timeout, but an attack error knotted things at 24-24. The Golden Eagles captured the final two points to take set two.
Early on in the third, with the score at 11-11 the Golden Eagles went on a 7-2 run to make it 13-18, and cruised to a 18-25 set three victory as Juniata's backs were against the wall.
In the fourth set, roles reversed as with the score at 9-9, Juniata put together a set-winning run. A kill from Peterson, an attack error by the Golden Eagles, and a block by Peterson and Hibner forced St. Joseph's to call timeout. A service error momentarily broke up the run, before another block by Peterson and Hibner, another Peterson kill and two Golden Eagle errors made it 17-10. Juniata remained in control with Fick sending the match to set five, 25-18.
Juniata jumped ahead 5-2 early, but the Golden Eagles surged ahead with a 7-1 rally to make it 9-12. A block from Sean Cavanagh (Cranberry Twp., Pa. / Seneca Valley) and Duffy along with a Hibner kill pulled Juniata within one. An Eagle attack error made it 11-13 before a Michael Young (Westlake Village, Calif. / Westlake Village) kill pull the Blue and Gold within one, but they got no closer as St. Joseph's edged JC, 15-12.