MAHWAH, NJ-The Juniata men's volleyball team suffered a 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-18) defeat to UC Santa Cruz in their second game of the day at the Bradley Center on the campus of Ramapo College of New Jersey.
The Eagles fell behind 6-12 early in the opening set and never recovered as UC Santa Cruz surged ahead 10-20. The teams traded points the rest of the set as the Banana Slugs took set one, 15-25.
Set two saw Juniata build up an 8-5 lead, with two kills and an ace from David Hibner (Burke, Va. / Lake Braddock Secondary) and one kill apiece from Sean Cavanagh (Cranberry Twp., Pa. / Seneca Valley) and Kevin Duffy (Carlisle, Pa. / Carlisle HS). UC Santa Cruz took the lead with a 11-2 explosion that put them up 10-16. Juniata hung around, getting within two several times with the last one on a kill from Cavanagh making it 20-22. The Banana Slugs took the final three points to take set two, 20-25.
The third set saw the Eagles never trail by more than three early as they stayed close to UC Santa Cruz most of the way. The Banana Slugs went up four, 15-19, before a service error and an attack error pulled the Eagles within two, 17-19. UC Santa Cruz closed the match on a 6-1 surge to take set three and the match, 18-25.
The Eagles have a pair of matches tomorrow as they will face #5 Stevens at 11:00 AM and Arcadia at 1:30.