UTICA, N.Y.- The #8 Juniata men's volleyball team opened up the 2023 season with a pair of 3-1 victories over Nichols (18-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-16) and SUNY Poly Invitational hosts SUNY Poly (21-25, 25-12, 25-18, 25-20) on Friday evening.
The Eagles dropped the first set against Nichols, as Nichols began to build a gap after the sides stayed with a point of each up to being level at 10 each. From there, Nichols posted three straight on a pair of kills and an Eagles setting error. Juniata got one back on a Tyler Goldsborough kill, but Nichols preceded to go on a 5-0 run that saw a service error, an attacking error, and two Bison aces to build an 18-11 cushion. From there, Nichols maintained the gap to an 18-25 first set, where they posted a .692 hitting percentage compared to Juniata's 280 hitting percentage with five errors.
Juniata returned to form in the second set as they eked out a 25-23 set two win. Juniata went 2-0 early on two errors before getting level on kills from Kevin Duffy III and Goldsborough. From there, Nichols began to build out a modest advantage, going ahead 8-4 on three straight points. Juniata would begin to claw back, getting level at 10-10 on a block from Goldsborough and Duffy. The sides traded points, and the Eagles soon got four ahead at 16-12 off a three-point run that saw a kill from Reese Ganter and Luke Hoffman with a Bison attacking error.
Nichols then posted three straight to get to 16-15. Nichols drew level at 202-20, but two straight errors put Juniata back in control, who ended the set a 25-23 off a Maxwell Barr kill.
Juniata shut out Nichols in the third set, posting a .714 hitting percentage while forcing five attacking errors and limiting Nichols to five kills and a .000 hitting percentage. The Eagles started on a 3-0 run but faced several charges at the lead from the Bison early in the third. A four-point run at 8-11 that saw two Eagles kills and two Bison attack Errors put them ahead by six. From there, Juniata continued to consistently pull away to a comfortable 25-14 set three.
The Eagles again limited the Bison to five kills in the fourth set in a 25-16 set to earn their first victory of 2023. The sides traded points early, with two Will Phelan kills, a Bison attack error, and a Hoffman kill breaking a 3-3 deadlock to give Juniata a 7-3 lead. A six-point run with kills from four separate Eagles gave Juniata a 16-8 lead, a gap that was relatively maintained to the finish line as Ganter fed Goldsborough at match point.
Juniata ended match one of the day with a .526 hitting percentage and five blocks. Phelan posted a .78 hitting percentage with seven kills, while Goldsborough (.529, 11 kills), Duffy (.571, nine kills), and Barr (.409, 12 kills) each posted hitting percentages over .409 Hoffman, Duffy, and Austin Goodsel each collected two block assists, while Jeremiah Burden provided five digs.
The storyline was similar for the match against SUNY Poly, as Juniata struggled in attack in the first set with a .050 hitting percentage and six attacking errors before recovering with an increasing hitting percentage with each set.
After a 3-1 Juniata lead, SUNY Poly stormed out to a 3-6 advantage in a five-point run that saw three attacking errors from Juniata. Another three-point run from the Wildcats put them ahead 9-4, but the Eagles began to mount a comeback on a 6-1 run in the middle stages to draw one back at 12-13. From there, the sides traded points up to Juniata being down 18-20. SUNY Poly then executed a kill and service ace with an Eagles setting error to go ahead by five. They soon reached set point at 19-24, with the set ending 21-25 on an Eagles service error.
Juniata held SUNY Poly to a .-045 hitting percentage in the second set in a commanding 25-12 victory. The Eagles broke an early 3-3 tie as Goldsborough and Phelan each collected a pair of kills on a 7-2 stretch to go ahead 10-5. The Wildcats were plagued by service errors and attack errors in the middle stages, with Juniata maintaining the gap to 14-9. From there, Juniata went on a six-point run that saw a trio of Phelan kills to go up 20-9. From there, Juniata traded points to a Phillips kill at 25-12.
The Wildcats broke out to an early 4-1 lead in the third set, but Juniata found themselves level at eight each. The Eagles wouldn't break a streak of trading points until going on a four-point run that saw two blocks from Duffy and Phillips, an attack error, and a service error from SUNY Poly. This put Juniata up 16-12. The Wildcats got a point back, but this was followed by three straight Duffy kills to give Juniata a 19-13 lead. From there, the team traded points up to a decisive Hoffman kill at 25-18.
Juniata went up by as much as seven before thwarting a late Wildcats comeback for a 25-20 set four. The Eagles opened the match ahead 7-3, but SUNY got back within two at 12-10. Juniata would soon go on a 6-1 run that featured a pair of aces from Goodsel to go up 20-13, building the lead eventually up to 23-15. SUNY Poly mounted a run at the set with a Juniata attack error and an ace to get to 23-17. They conceded to a service error to send the contest to match point. They went on a three-point run before Ganter set to Phelan to end the match at 25-20.
The Eagles ended match two with a .395 team hitting percentage. Phelan led Juniata in kills with 15 with a .458 hitting percentage, while Goldsborough (12 kills, .389 hitting percentage) and Hoffman (.500 hitting percentage, seven kills) also showed strong attacking performances. Phillips collected eight digs and four block assists, while Peter Carioto posted seven digs.
The Eagles wrap up the SUNY Poly Invitational against #3 Wentworth at 11:00 a.m. and SUNY Potsdam at 3:00 p.m. The Eagles are 2-1 against Wentworth, beating them 3-1 in the last meeting in 2019. Juniata is 1-0 against Potsdam, claiming a 3-0 win last year as Duffy posted a .688 hitting percentage, the 15th-best hitting percentage in a single game in program history.
