By: Jennifer Jones
Director of Sports Information
jonesj@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
Photo: TJ Chance-Chin
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – No. 3 Juniata College men's volleyball cruised to a 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-18) win over Eastern Mennonite University Friday night in their Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) home opener. The Eagles earned 10 service aces to Eastern Mennonite's none, marking the first time this season the Eagles serve receive was flawless. Juniata (11-2, 1-0 CVC) will play two more matches at home tomorrow. The Royals dropped to 4-5 overall, 0-1 in CVC play.
"Serve receive has been a focus through this off period," said head coach Kevin Moore. "We have the offensive options, but we need to make sure we're putting ourselves in a position to utilize them."
The Eagle's attack was led by junior Alex McColgin (Buffalo, N.Y./Hamburg) who finished with a team-high nine kills. Sophomore Matt Elias (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) ran the offense and collected a match-high 26 assists. Juniata dominated at the net, earning 11.5 team blocks to the Royals 4.5. McColgin picked up a match-high six blocks with sophomore Chad Albert (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) right behind him at five, respectively.
Juniata never trailed by more than two points in the matchup. They hit .450 to set the tone in game one and never looked back.
"It's good to be able to see someone else on the other side of the net," Moore said. "Two weeks against guys on your own team, they were ready to see someone else. So tomorrow they're ready to see two more teams. Hopefully we can come out and have two strong showings tomorrow and wrap up the weekend."
The Eagles host Marymount University at 1 p.m. tomorrow afternoon in their second CVC East match of the weekend. This is the first meeting of the two programs all-time. Juniata concludes competition Saturday against Hilbert College at 5 p.m. They lead that all-time series 2-0 after sweeping the Hawks 3-0 last year.
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