HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The #8 Juniata men's volleyball team defeated visiting Elizabethtown 3-1 (25-20, 25-27, 25-16, 25-16) Wednesday evening inside Memorial Gymnasium.
Tyler Goldsborough led the way with 16 kills (.400), three aces, seven digs, and one block assist, while Tyler Phillips contributed 11 kills (.318), eight digs, and three block assists. Luke Hoffman totaled eight kills (.357), two digs, a solo block, and seven block assists. Reese Ganter had 47 assists, five digs, and four block assists.
In set one, with the score at 9-9, kills from Philips and Campbell Gerdeman, along with a block by Phillips and Hoffman followed by a Hoffman/Gerdeman block, had JC up by four. The Eagles nursed the lead for a while and pushed the lead back to five on an error and kills from Hoffman and Goldsborough. The Eagles took set one on another Goldsborough kill, 25-20.
The second set was tightly contested, and the visitors had their best hitting percentage of the match (.156), while Juniata had their worst (.167). Juniata still reached set point first, 25-24, on a service error, but two kills and an ace gave the Blue Jays set two, 25-27.
In set three, two different 4-0 runs from the Eagles, with the second one late that made it 20-10, saw Juniata easily take set three 25-16.
In the match's final set, the Blue Jays were hanging around late, scoring three straight to make it 19-15. A 6-1 sprint from the Eagles saw the match to a conclusion, with Goldsborough putting a bow on things with his 16th kill.
The women's volleyball team received their NCAA Division III National Championship rings before the match.
Juniata will host Marymount on Friday at 7:00.
