HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The #12 Juniata men's volleyball team picked up a 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 23-25, 25-21) win over Mount Union Friday evening on day two of the FrogJump Invitational.
Tyler Goldsborough had a career-high 19 kills with four aces, ten digs, an assist, and a solo block. Chris Mellor was a beacon of efficiency, tallying seven kills on eight swings with no errors, while Tyler Phillips added eight kills, four digs, and a block assist.
In set one, Juniata led 19-14 late in the set, but five straight Purple Raider points tied things at 19. The visitors pulled ahead by one 21-20 before two errors gave the Eagles the lead back. A third error made it 22-22, Goldsborough bopped two kills, and a Mount Union attack error ended set one, 25-22.
Trailing 8-11, multiple Mount Union errors, two kills from Goldsborough, and a Juan Armando kill had the Eagles up 14-12. Juniata continued to nurse their lead, eventually ahead 22-17. A 5-1 Purple Raider blitz had the JC leads narrowed to one, 23-22. The teams traded errors to hand Juniata set point, and Phillips ended the set 25-23.
The Eagles hit a match-low .107 in set three, and the Purple Raiders took advantage as they narrowly took the set to keep the match alive, 23-25.
The fourth set was one of runs, as the Eagles used a massive 9-3 one midway through to pull ahead by four 18-14. A 5-1 response by Mount Union tied things at 19-19 all, but the Eagles closed strong, 6-2, as an ace from Reese Ganter ended the match, 25-21.
Juniata will wrap up the FrogJump Invitational tomorrow at 4:00 as they take on #2 Stevens.