MECHANICSBURG, Pa.- The #11 Juniata men's volleyball team kicked off the week with a 3-1 (27-25, 20-25, 25-14, 25-16) win over reigning MAC Champion Messiah Tuesday evening in Hitchcock Arena. 

The opening set was an exchange of runs as Juniata rattled off five straight points early and four straight late, but the Falcons had an answer each time. Messiah went up late 21-22, and JC called timeout. A kill from Kevin Duffy III (Carlisle, Pa. / Carlisle HS), a block by Will Phelan (Saegertown, Pa. / Saegertown HS), and Duffy, along with a Messiah error, gave JC set point. After a Messiah timeout, they managed to even the score at 25-25 before JC captured the next two points to clinch the set.

������ https://t.co/i6LH7UNi79

— Juniata Athletics (@JuniataEagles) February 2, 2022

The Falcons had their best hitting percentage in a set while the Eagles had their worst the result was Messiah taking set two 20-25. Juniata was even the whole way until late, with the Falcons pulling away with a 5-0 surge while the score was at 17-17. 

The third set saw the Eagles completely flip the script from set two as they hit a blistering .500 and limited the hosts to a -.053 hitting percentage to win the third set in commanding fashion, 25-14. 

The fourth set was more of the same, with Juniata leading through before making their move with the scoreboard showing 14-13. Phelan tallied a kill, Luke Hoffman (Reading, Pa. / Exeter Township HS) got a solo block before consecutive Falcon errors. Juniata took the set 25-16 to get the win as they held Messiah to a negative hitting percentage again at -.107. 

Juniata will open CVC conference play this Saturday at 2:00 pm against #8 Rutgers-Newark.