ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa.- The #5 Juniata men's volleyball team won on the road at Elizabethtown College, 3-1 (25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 25-17) Wednesday evening.
Tyler Phillips had 15 kills (.265) and eight digs, while Juan Armando had 14 kills (.333) with eight digs, an ace, an assist, and a solo block. Dante Palombo contributed seven kills (.778) with a dig and a block assist. Grant Lorelli tallied 27 assists, three kills, a solo block, and five block assists, while Will Sierer had 23 assists, four digs, and an ace.
The first set was close, with the teams trading the lead throughout. Etown nudged ahead 16-17 on an Eagle service error. Kills from Armando, Phillips, and Palombo, along with two consecutive Chase Robbins aces around a Blue Jay kill, made it 21-18 Eagles. The Blue Jays captured the following three points to go up 21-22 before an Armando kill, an Andrew Perhamus ace, and a Blue Jay attack error, but JC at set point. A Phillips kill ended set one.
Both teams struggled offensively as JC hit .263 to the Blue Jays -.037 in the second set. Juniata led 13-11 midway through and nursed their lead the rest of the way. Juniata eventually took the second set on an Armando kill, 25-20.
The third set was close down the stretch, but the Eagles held a 21-20 lead, and it appeared it would follow the same script as the others. The Blue Jays had other ideas, closing the set on a 1-5 run to take the third set, 25-22.
Juniata didn't waste time in the fourth, building a 13-7 lead and later closing the match on a 5-2 run. Sierer ended the match with an ace, 25-17.
Juniata will travel to take on Drew on Friday at 7:00.
