Juniata MVB places four on CVC All-East Division team

HUNTINGDON, Pa. –- Juniata College men's volleyball collected its first post-season honors of 2012 when it placed four on the inaugural Continental Volleyball Conference All-East Division team, which was unveiled Thursday. 

Senior middle Ben Wolff (Meadville, Pa./Meadville), senior setter John Almquist (York, Pa./Central York), sophomore outside hitter Ross Madden (Richmond, Va./Deep Run), and freshman middle Joe Bortak (Jeannette, Pa./Penn Trafford) were all named to the squad.

Wolff led the Eagles this season with 2.59 kills/set, and leads Division III with his .515 hitting percentage. His 116 total blocks translates to a seventh-in-the-nation 1.12 blocks/set, and he also has 13 service aces this season.

Over his four-year career, Wolff has logged 709 kills (2.24/set) while hitting .464, and he has amassed 292 blocks (0.92/set).

Almquist has been at the helm of the Juniata offense for 121 of Juniata's 131 sets this season, where he has helped the Eagles post a team hitting percentage of .315 – good enough to be ranked fourth in Division III. He has 1,179 assists (9.74/set) this season, and is ranked seventh among Division III leaders.

Over four seasons, Almquist has charted 2,131 assists (6.92/set) with 79 service aces and 409 digs.

Madden heads into the CVC Tournament ranked second on the team in both total kills with 287, as well as in kills per set with 2.54. His 91 total blocks (0.81/set) places him 37^th among Division III statistical leaders, and he has 19 aces with 159 digs (1.41/set) this season.

In his first season, Bortak helped Juniata own the net this season with his 113 total blocks and 0.90 blocks/set average that ranked 24th among Division III leaders. He has averaged 2.37 kills/set thus far in 2012, and is second in the nation with his .496 hitting percentage.

Juniata (27-9, 8-0 CVC East) received a first round bye in the 2012 CVC Tournament, which opens Friday, April 13, at Thiel College in Greenville, Pa., after finishing first in the East Division. The Eagles will face either Thiel  or UC-Santa Cruz in the tourney's first semifinal match, which will be held on Saturday, April 14, at 11:00 a.m. The winner will advance to Saturday's championship match, which will be held at 7:00 p.m. 

The complete 2012 CVC All-East and All-West teams are listed below. Each team consists of 10 position players plus one libero, and was selected by the league's coaches.

CVC All-East Division

• Ben Wolff, Juniata (Sr., MB, Meadville, Pa.)
• John Almquist, Juniata (Sr., S, York, Pa.)
• Joe Bortak, Juniata (Fr., MB, Jeannette, Pa.)
• Ross Madden, Juniata (So., OH, Richmond, Va.)
• Dante McCoy, Thiel (Jr., RS, Reading, Pa.)
• Michael Whitelock, Thiel (So., MH, Pittsburgh, Pa.)
• Ethan Mawhinney, Phila. Biblical (Jr., MH, Langhorne, Pa.)
• Noah Prickett, Phila. Biblical (Jr., OH, Yardley, Pa.)
• Eddy Klepper, Stevenson (So., MH, Carlisle, Pa.)
• David Moler, Stevenson (Fr., S, York, Pa.)
• Kyle Wisner, Stevenson (Fr., MH, York, Pa.)
• Nolan Prock, Eastern Mennonite (Sr., L, Virginia Beach, Va.)

CVC All-West Division

• Randy Hansen, Carthage (Sr., OH, Oak Lawn, Ill.)
• Connor Wexter, Carthage (So., S, New Lenox, Ill.)
• Tyler Frings, Carthage (Sr., MB, Hubertus, Wis.)
• Pat Berry, Carthage (So., RS, Skokie, Ill.)
• Matt Yanz, Carthage (Sr., MB, Bolingbrook, Ill.)
• Salvatore La Cavera, UC-Santa Cruz (Jr., OH, Huntington Beach, Calif.)
• Paul Leon, UC-Santa Cruz (Sr., S, Laguna Niguel, Calif.)
• Will Klepac, UC-Santa Cruz (So., MB, Fremont, Calif.)
• Darren Tsai, UC-Santa Cruz (Sr., L, Huntington Beach, Calif.)
• Thomas Davidson, UC-Santa Cruz (Sr., MB, Sunnyvale, Calif.)
• Max Martin, MSOE (Sr., RS, Schaumburg, Ill.)
• Jack Geary, MSOE (Jr., MH, Milwaukee, Wis.)

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