HOBOKEN, N.J.- The Juniata men's volleyball team suffered a 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-19) loss at the hands of #5 Stevens, Saturday morning.
The first set was tight through the beginning and middle portions of the set, with a Kevin Duffy (Carlisle, Pa. / Carlisle HS) kill giving the Eagles a 16-15 advantage. The Ducks countered with a 6-0 surge to go up 16-21. The Eagles hung tough, with the score at 19-23, and a bad set and a kill from David Hibner (Burke, Va. / Lake Braddock Secondary) got them back within two. The Ducks took the next point to get to set point, but Leland Hacecky (Ashburn, Va. / Stone Bridge) kept JC's comeback hopes alive for a point. Stevens won the opener on the next point via kill to take set one, 22-25.
The second set was more of the same, as a Quinn Peterson (Las Vegas, Nev. / Shadow Ridge) kill knotted things at 14-14. But from that point on, Stevens closed on a 11-4 run to take set two, 18-25.
The hosts slowly built their lead in the third set, leading by as many as nine, 10-19. The Ducks reached match point, 24-15, but the Eagles didn't go away. Kills from Sean Cavanagh (Cranberry Twp., Pa. / Seneca Valley) and Duffy paired with Stevens attack errors made it 19-24, before the Ducks captured the final point they needed to take the match.
JC will wrap up regular season play against Arcadia at 1:30.