HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata men's volleyball team will begin their preseason this Wednesday with high expectations, and the Continental Volleyball Conference preseason coaches' poll as well as the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll also project good things.
Juniata is tied for second in the CVC poll, behind reigning conference champion Southern Virginia (77 points) and tied with Kean (67 points). The Eagles are also ranked 15th in the national poll, with reigning national champion SUNY New Paltz atop the poll at #1. The Eagles home opener is against the Hawks on January 24th at 7:30.
The team returns 11 players from the previous season; the team has a robust upper-class presence that should provide leadership and experience throughout what will hopefully be a long season.
"This senior class made a tremendous impact on this program," said head coach Glenn Dehaven. "They're all well-rounded student-athletes who perform in the classroom as well as on the court. This group helped the program to their first-team academic award in program history last season."
The seniors are led by outside Joe Fick (Venetia, Pa. / Peters Township), who was named All-CVC first team and All-ECAC first-teamer, and senior middle blocker David Hibner (Burke, Va. / Lake Braddock Secondary)was named to the All-CVC third team. Joining them are setters Matt Schaeffer (Mount Wolf, Pa. / Northeastern) and Michael Young(Westlake Village, Calif. / Westlake Village), and outside hitter Sean Cavanagh (Cranberry Twp., Pa. / Seneca Valley).
"Our juniors and sophomores are a small but vital group of our team," continued coach Dehaven. "This is a hardworking and talented unit that we will hope can grow into larger roles within the team as the year goes on."
Daniel Voronov (Northbrook, Ill. / Glenbrook North HS) and Will Hafen (Las Vegas, Nev. / Bishop Gorman) will be looked upon to carry the load at the libero spot while all CVC middle Kevin Duffy (Carlisle, Pa. / Carlisle HS), who made the All-CVC third team, will be looked upon to provide a spark on offense. Sophomore setter Austin Goodsel(Corry, Pa. / Fort Leboeuf HS) will look to expand upon his strong play as a freshman while Jordan Orth-Moore(Annapolis, Md. / International School of Kenya) and Theodore Weinberger (Santa Clara, Calif. / Adrian C. Wilcox HS) provide depth in the middle.
"We are bringing in a lot of new faces as we add nine new people to the roster this season. I think it is a really strong group and a great building block for our future. I think we will get a good mix of youthful energy, physicality, and athleticism from this group."
Transfers Dylan Flor (Quakertown, Pa.) and Robert Bowling (Columbus, Ohio / Hilliard Darby) bring experience along with new energy the seven freshmen will bring to the gym each day.
The Eagles open their season January 17th against Augustana (IL) on the campus of Wittenberg College at 4:00 before taking on Wittenberg at 8:00.
