MECHANICSBURG, Pa.- The #12 Juniata men's volleyball team lost to #2 Stevens Institute of Technology, 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 18-25, 17-25) Saturday afternoon.
Tyler Goldsborough had 12 kills (.308), twelve digs, an ace, and a block assist, while Juan Armando had a match-high 15 kills, with an ace, an assist, six digs, and a solo block. Luke Hoffman tallied six kills (.385), two block assists, and two digs, while Nathanael Brown added four kills (.375) and a block assist. Tyler Phillips totaled seven kills, five digs, and three block assists.
The first set saw the Eagles trailing 6-10 before a 5-0 run that featured a kill from Goldsborough, a block from Phillips and Logan Constable, two errors by the Ducks, and a Reese Ganter ace. Stevens eventually nudged 15-17, but an error and a kill by Armando made it 17-17. The Eagles couldn't pull even the rest of the way, falling 21-25.
The Eagles were behind 7-8 before retaking the lead on an Armando kill followed by two straight from Goldsborough. JC slowly pulled away, eventually taking the set 25-18 on another Armando kill.
The third set featured four straight points midway through the set to make it 10-17 Ducks, and the Eagles couldn't bounce back, dropping the set 17-25.
Juniata hung around early in the final set, pulling within two at 12-14. Five straight Duck points saw the deficit increase to seven, 12-19, and the Ducks eventually took the set and the match 17-25.
The Eagles will open up at home this Thursday against Carthage at 7:00 on night one of the FrogJump Invitational.