WITTENBERG, Ohio- The Eagles wrapped up their second tournament weekend of the season with a pair of 3-1 wins on Saturday afternoon over Wittenberg (25-19, 18-25, 25-17, 25-14) and Aurora (25-20, 25-15, 18-25, 25-19).
Juniata opened their four-set win over hosts Wittenberg in a tightly-contested 25-19 set one that saw them snag an early 3-2 lead they did not surrender despite the Tigers leveling the score on four occasions. Wittenberg went ahead 1-0 and 2-1 before a Maxwell Barr kill, Wittenberg attacking error, and setting error put Juniata up by two. The Tigers then collected two points on an Eagles service error and a kill to draw level. Kevin Duffy III broke the tie with his first kill of the afternoon, but Wittenberg again fired back with a kill. for a 5-4 lead.
Juniata followed with a 4-1 run with kills from Tyler Goldsborough and Luke Hoffman, along with a service error and setting error from Wittenberg. It was Wittenberg that followed this sequence with a 4-1 run of their own off two kills, a service error, and an attacking error to draw even at 10. Hoffman put Juniata ahead with a kill before missing on his next service to put the game back at 11 each. Juniata followed this by opening a three-point lead, including a Max Cooley kill, a service error, and an attacking error. The sides traded points for a few serves before the Eagles pulled ahead by four at 18-14 on a Goldsborough kill, with the Tigers calling a timeout.
Wittenberg went 3-1 to open the break to get within three, but the Eagles posted four straight with an ace from Campbell Gerdeman and kill from Reese Ganter and Barr for a 23-17 advantage. The Tigers got one back on a service error, Duffy struck a kill to get to match point, followed by another Eagles service error. Duffy collected another kill to wrap up the set 25-19.
Set one saw Juniata hit .419 with a match-high 16 kills and three attack errors.
Wittenberg struck back in the second set with an 18-25 victory over the Eagles, with Juniata hitting at .217 in the second to the Tigers' .440 with 15 kills. A setting error from Wittenberg gave Juniata the first point before the Tigers tallied five straight to force a Juniata timeout. The Eagles returned from the break with a Barr kill while benefitting from a Wittenberg attack error to get within two. The sides traded points to a 5-8 score, with the Tigers then posting three straight on an Eagles service error and two attacking errors. Duffy delivered a block to stop the short run, and Juniata was able to stay within a half-dozen points from most of the middle stages of the set.
Four points down at 17-13 after posting two-straight points, Wittenberg collected two straight on an ace and kill to go ahead by six. A service error handed possession back to Juniata, and the Eagles returned with a Goldsborough kill. Wittenberg followed with a kill before Goldsborough collected another kill to stay five down at 21-16. The Eagles then conceded a service error but followed with two straight on a service error and Cooley kill for an 18-22 set. Any chance of an Eagles rally was properly quelled as the Tigers wrapped up the set with a kill and back-to-back aces.
Juniata took back control of the match in set three with a 25-17 win despite a .120 hitting percentage and only seven kills. On the other side of the net, the Tigers collected more kills (11) but hit at .026 with ten attack errors.
Wittenberg grabbed an early 3-1 lead off a kill and two attack errors from the Eagles but conceded two straight to Juniata from a service error and setting error. The sides traded points a couple of times before Juniata finally went ahead 6-5 on a Will Phelan kill. The Tigers snagged the lead back on three straight, including two aces and a kill for an 8-6. The sides again traded points up to a 10-8 scoreline, but Juniata tied the set at 10 with a Hoffman kill and a block from Duffy and Barr.
The Tigers posted another point, but Juniata followed with three straight, including a Duffy kill, Barr ace, and an attacking error. Down by two, Wittenberg called a timeout. They returned with a kill but soon faced an Eagles four-point rally, two attack errors, a Duffy block, and a service error, giving Juniata a five-point margin. Wittenberg again initiated a timeout. The story remained the same on the return with an attack error, Duffy block, and a Phelan kill, putting Juniata five points from the set.
Wittenberg followed with two points before Phelan kill collected another kill. The Tigers then collected a kill but conceded two straight on attack errors to put Juniata within two of the set. They followed with two of their own from an attack error and kill, but Juniata wrapped up the set on a service error, a block from the duo of Duffy and Barr.
The Eagles returned to form in the fourth set with a 25-14 victory with a .519 hitting percentage, 15 kills, and zero attack errors, holding Wittenberg to a .056 hitting percentage.
The sides traded points up to a 6-6 deadlock with two kills from Duffy, a single kill from Barr and Phelan, and an ace from Drew Hunker. Juniata posted two straight kills from Cooley and Hoffman before again going back and forth a couple of times. Juniata went on a 4-1 return to go ahead 13-9. Wittenberg called timeout at this point and returned from the break benefitting from an Eagles service error. Juniata then scored three straight on a run that saw two block assists for Ganter and a kill.
The Tigers tried a timeout again. They again returned to benefit from a service error before the Eagles went five straight from two Phelan kills and three straight attack errors from the same Tiger. The teams traded points the rest of the way up to the match-point kill from Barr.
Duffy posted impressive figures both offensively and defensively. He ended the bout with the Tigers with a .538 hitting percentage, seven kills, three solo blocks, five block assists, and two digs. Cooley had a team-high eight kills. Goldsborough had six kills and a .364 hitting percentage, while Ganter totaled eight digs and 38 assists.
Set one in the Aurora match saw the Spartans double the kills of Juniata (15 to 7), but Aurora posted seven attacking errors to Juniata's seven in a 25-20 set win. A couple of attack errors and a Phelan kill put the Eagles ahead 3-2 quickly, but Aurora posted three-straight kills to go ahead 5-3. Juniata then collected five straight with a Barr block and kill and a Goldsborough ace. A service error and kill for the Spartans put them back within one at 8-7. Juniata then scored three straight on a service error, Barr and Duffy block, and an attack error, forcing an Aurora timeout.
The Spartans returned with no immediate answer with an attacking error, Duffy kill, and setting error, giving Juniata a 14-7 advantage. Points were consistently traded up to a 23-16 score when Aurora had three straight kills. A service error gave Juniata set point followed by another Aurora kill. Goldsborough finished things off on the next service with a kill.
Set two saw the Eagles hit .231 to the Spartans' .000 with just six kills alongside six errors. Juniata earned the lead at 5-4 after a pair of kills from Goldsborough and one apiece from Barr and Hoffman. From there, the lead was not surrendered. Juniata soon doubled their lead at 10-5 during a run that saw a block from Hoffman and Barr, a Phelan kill, and a Gerdeman ace. Aurora called timeout, and they did return two straight kills before committing a service error for an 11-7 score.
The sides swapped points in the middle stages, and Aurora did get back to 15-12 before pulling out to an 18-12 lead off kills from Phelan and Barr with a block from Barr and Hoffman. Juniata continued the consistent march to a set two win up to a 21-15 score before posting four straight to wrap up the set with a Phelan kill, an attack error, and two Spartans setting errors.
Aurora never trailed in set three, as Juniata hit .000 with nine kills and nine attacking errors against a .329 hitting percentage from the Spartans in a controlled 18-25 set defeat. The sides traded points early before the Spartans gapped Juniata on a three-point run with two kills and an attack error to go up 4-8. A Barr kill split three more from Aurora off a kill and two blocks, and Juniata called timeout down 5-11.
The gap remained near a half dozen points up to a 14-21 Spartan lead. Juniata then posted three from a service error, attack error, and Austin Goodsel ace to get within four. Aurora called timeout and returned on the 4-1 run needed for a set win, ending on a block.
Juniata collected a match-high 13 kills with three errors in a 25-19 set-four win to earn their third win of the weekend, with Aurora posting eight errors and falling behind after trading points up to an early 8-8 draw. From there, Juniata swiftly opened the margin with a kill from Hoffman and Goldsborough and a block from Barr and Hoffman, and the Spartans called timeout. Juniata returned from the break on a 4-1 run with a pair of Barr kills and one from Duffy, and Aurora called timeout at 15-19. They went 5-2 upon returning with three kills and two attacking errors from the Eagles, and Juniata called timeout at 17-14.
They returned to the court and soon found themselves sitting at 23-16 in a run with three Goldsborough kills and one apiece from Hoffman and Phelan. Aurora collected three straight from a kill and two aces, followed by two straight from Juniata to wrap up the day on a Phelan-Duffy block.
Hoffman registered a team-best .700 hitting percentage with seven kills. The most kills belonged to Goldsborough with 12, who also had a team-high 11 digs. Gerdeman had 22 assists, while Barr (1 BS, 4 BA) and Hoffman (5 BA) each totaled five blocks.
Juniata ends week two 7-0 with two victories over fellow AVCA-ranked sides, including the No. 1 defending national champions Carthage and No. 11 Wentworth.
They return with three matches next weekend, including one against a ranked side in their first home tournament of the season, the Juniata Invitational. They play No. 7 Saint John Fisher and Geneva on Friday before wrapping up the seven-game invite against Stevenson on Saturday.
