HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The #2 Juniata men's volleyball team picked up a pair of victories as they swept Geneva (25-13, 25-16, 25-20) and took down #8 St John Fisher 3-1 (15-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-16) Friday evening inside Memorial Gymnasium on day one of the Juniata Invitational.
The Eagles opened the evening with a straight sets victory over Geneva College, hitting an efficient .316 across the match.
Tyler Phillips (.391 hitting %) and Campbell Gerdeman (.364 hitting %) each collected 11 kills, while Max Cooley collected a team-high eight digs. Three players had a pair of aces, including Grant Lorelli, Logan Constable, and Joseph Chambers. Austin Goodsel totaled 16 assists, and Lorelli had 12.
Juniata never trailed in a swift set one where they hit .417 against Geneva's -.043 for a 25-13 final. Each side collected a point to open, followed by a six-point Eagles run with three kills, a Chambers-Phillips block, and a Gerdeman ace. Geneva called a timeout and returned able to maintain a margin of about a half dozen points for a period, staying within seven at 15-8. Juniata then opened up on a 4-1 run with two Gerdeman kills, a Phillips-Chambers block, and a Goodsel ace to put Juniata at 17-8.
Geneva scored a point before a Juniata four-point run put Juniata four points from the set. The Eagles got to set point on a Goodsel kill but conceded two attack errors. Gerdeman finished the set with a kill on the next play.
Juniata registered a match-low ten kills but kept to just two attack errors in a 25-16 set two where Genva hit -.036 with seven errors. The Golden Tornadoes opened the set with set straight points before the Eagles soon reclaimed the advantage at 5-3 via three attack errors and kills from Phillips and Goodsel. Geneva got level at five, then Juniata posted three straight. The sides traded points, with Geneva getting back to 9-8. Juniata posted another three straight, followed by three consecutive Geneva points.
Juniata followed with a 5-1 run that saw Philips register a block and kill alongside a Gerdeman kill. Geneva got a couple back, but the Eagles ended on a 7-2 stretch on a Cooley kill.
The third set saw the strongest resistance from the Golden Tornadoes, with Geneva sporting a 12-16 lead at one point before falling 25-20. Juniata hit .250 in the set to Geneva's .160. Phillips scored back-to-back kills, followed by two straight Geneva points putting the Golden Tornadoes ahead 3-4. The sides traded points up to an 11-11 tie. At this point, Geneva posted two straight, and the Eagles called timeout.
Geneva returned from the break with a kill and an Eagle attack error. The sides traded points once before Juniata scored three straight to get back within one at 16-15. The teams traded points again, followed by a three-point Juniata run to give Juniata the lead at 19-18 on a Gerdeman kill. Geneva called timeout but had few answers upon returning. The Eagles ended on a 6-2 run with two Chambers blocks for their eighth win of the year.
In the second match of the day, the Cardinals never trailed in set one as they hit a robust .538 and never trailed as they took set one 15-25.
The second set was back and forth early, with the Cardinals taking a narrow 10-11 lead. The visitors committed two errors before notching a kill to make it 13-12, Cooley put down a kill, and Kevin Duffy III got a solo block. The Cardinals edged ahead again at 19-20, but Cooley continued to cook as he put down two straight kills. Following an SJF timeout, they committed two more errors as JC led 23-20. St John Fisher got their final point of the set, Cooley put down another kill to give JC set point, and another Duffy III solo block ended set two, 25-21.
Set three saw the Eagles use an 8-1 run early, with Tyler Goldsborough amassing four kills during the JC blitz to put the Eagles up 11-6 early. St. John Fisher called timeout, and the teams remained even for a while, as the Cardinals hung around within four at 16-12. A Cooley kill, a block by Luke Hoffman and Goldsborough, along with two more kills from Goldsborough, pushed the Juniata lead to seven. The teams traded the final 10 points, a block by Maxwell Barr handed JC set point, and two points later, Goldsborough ended things with a kill, 25-17, as they led the match two sets to one.
In the fourth set, the Eagles used a 9-1 run early, highlighted by three Barr aces. The Cardinals didn't quit, and two straight points brought them within four at 15-11. Barr and Duffy III tallied kills before a Hoffman ace to make it 11-11. An error interrupted the Eagle run for a moment before two Cooley kills were sandwiched around the fourth Barr ace of the set to put the Eagles up by eight. Six points later, a Barr kill pushed JC to match point, and a Drew Hunker ace ended the match 25-16.
The Eagle middles were unstoppable as Duffy III and Hoffman combined for 19 kills on 26 swings, with one error between them to go with three solo blocks and three block assists. Goldsborough tallied a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs, while Reese Ganter had 48 assists and eight digs while leading the team to a .350 hitting percentage.
Juniata will take on Stevenson tomorrow at 7:00.