PATCHOGUE, NY.- The Juniata men's volleyball team reversed their five-set fortune from earlier in the day as they defeated Wentworth, 3-2 (22-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-23, 15-7) Saturday afternoon at the Danzi Center.
The Eagles had their worst two hitting percentages in the first two sets and it put them in a two sets to none hole as the Leopards looked to sweep Juniata aside.
The third set was back and forth early, with Wentworth holding an 8-10 lead. A service error, a block by Quinn Peterson (Las Vegas, Nev. / Shadow Ridge), a kill from David Hibner (Burke, Va. / Lake Braddock Secondary) followed with one from Peterson made it 12-10 Eagles. The Leopards took the next point via JC attack error before a Hibner kill, a Leland Hacecky (Ashburn, Va. / Stone Bridge) ace and another Peterson kill pushed the lead to 15-11. Later, with the score at 17-14 Juniata closed the door on the Leopards. Two kills and a block from Kevin Duffy (Carlisle, Pa. / Carlisle HS) along with two errors by Wentworth made it 22-14 and essentially ended set three. A Hibner kill ended set three and kept JC alive.
Set four was a tighter affair as the Eagles took a small early lead and Wentworth stayed close throughout. Nursing a 20-17 lead, a JC service error followed by a Leopard kill had the lead whittled down to one. The teams traded points to make it 21-20 and JC called timeout. Wentworth took the next point after the timeout to tie things up at 21-21 before another Duffy kill followed by another from Joe Fick (Venetia, Pa. / Peters Township) giving JC a two-point lead. A service error and a Wentworth kill tied things one final time before two straight Leopard errors gave Juniata set four, 25-23.
Set five saw the teams feel each other out, with the Eagles building up a 9-6 lead. Wentworth got one back, but that was the final point they scored as Juniata closed the match on a 6-0 run to complete the comeback. Kill from Peterson, a Wentworth attack error, a Hibner solo block, a block by Hacecky and Hibner and Hacecky kill pushed Juniata to match point. A Wentworth attack error ended things.
The Eagles head into spring break 11-4. They will return to action Friday March 22ndat Neumann. The match is set to start at 7:00.