HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata men's volleyball team swept Elizabethtown twice, 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-19) 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-15), on Senior Day, Tuesday evening inside Memorial Gymnasium.
Juniata completely dominated the first set as they hit what wound up being a match-best .700 with 15 kills on their way to an easy 25-15 set one win.
The Blue Jays held a 7-9 lead before a kill from Kevin Duffy (Carlisle, Pa. / Carlisle HS) an ace from Robert Bowling (Columbus, Ohio / Hilliard Darby), another Duffy kill, and a block from him and Will Phelan (Saegertown, Pa. / Saegertown H.S.) forced an Etown timeout. Bowling put down a kill on the other side of the timeout to make it 12-9. The Blue Jays got a point back before a Phelan kill, a block by Reese Ganter (Reading, Pa. / Exeter Township HS) and Duffy, a visitor attack error, and a kill from Tyler Goldsborough (Reading, Pa. / Exeter Township HS) made it 16-10. Elizabethtown got within five for a moment at 17-12, but Juniata maintained the lead the rest of the way, winning 25-17 on another Duffy and Ganter block.
The third set was more of the same as the Eagles staked themselves to an early 12-6 lead and never let up. The Blue Jays went on a 5-1 run late to make it 23-19, but a service error and a final Phelan kill to complete his dominant performance ended the first match, 25-19.
Phelan hit .800 in the match to go with his 17 kills, the second-best single-match hitting percentage in program history (minimum 20 attempts), behind only Jeremy Barndt vs. East Stroudsburg in 2007, who hit .821 in that match.
Men's volleyball wins set one against Elizabethtown and is currently leading set 2, 11-9! #wingsup #d3vb #GOCVC pic.twitter.com/G5vwbZmDtd
— Juniata Athletics (@JuniataEagles) March 23, 2021
Juniata leads, 2-0 after taking the second set, 25-17!#goeagles #GOCVC pic.twitter.com/uELzwuDYZx
— Juniata Athletics (@JuniataEagles) March 23, 2021
The first set of the second match saw Juniata saw the Eagles hold the Blue Jays at arm's length for most of the set. Etown got within four, 22-18, but a Duffy kill, an ace from Bowling, and a Phelan kill ended the opener 25-18.
The second set was relatively tight early, with the Eagles leading 11-8. A Bowling ace and kill and two Phelan kills paired with a Blue Jay attack error made it 16-8. The Eagles cruised the rest of the way, winning the set on an attack error 25-16.
In the final set of the night, the Eagles flew out to a 12-5 lead and kept pushing as they hit .400 with 13 kills to take the final set 25-15.
Juniata takes set 2 of game 2 against Etown! #d3vb #wingsup #GOCVC pic.twitter.com/gpMcD0zYNd
— Juniata Athletics (@JuniataEagles) March 23, 2021
Juniata completes the two game sweep over Elizabethtown tonight! #goeagles #d3vb #GOCVC pic.twitter.com/n1HNsUUMG5
— Juniata Athletics (@JuniataEagles) March 24, 2021
Goldsborough had another strong match as he hit .615 with nine kills and four digs.
The Eagles will wrap up the regular season at home with a pair of matches against Marymount. The first match starts at 2:00.
