Men’s Volleyball Ranked No. 3 Nationally by the AVCA

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) has released its first rankings of the 2013 season and the Juniata men's volleyball team was voted third with 189 total points.  They are just 14 points behind Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) rival No. 2 Carthage College.  Both programs received one first place vote in the poll.  Reigning National Champion Springfield College holds the top spot with 236 points and 14 first place votes.

The Eagles, who finished last season ranked No. 5, return five starters and eight letterwinners to this year's squad.  Starting his third season at the helm of the program, Head Coach Kevin Moore looks toward the 2013 schedule with an optimistic eye. Despite losing three valuable seniors from a team that went 28-11 overall with an 8-0 mark in the CVC East Division in 2012, Moore knows the cupboard is not bare.

"Our number one goal is to win the CVC Championship," said Moore. "We have a lot of experience back and our returning players all saw court time last year.  But replacing the leadership from last year will be a key to our success this year."

A young squad, Juniata boasts just two seniors and four juniors to go with five sophomores and eight freshmen.

Moore will be counting on a core of lettermen to lead the way as the promising group of freshmen look to provide a competitive training environment during the season.  Key returners include 2012 All-American middle-blocker Joe Bortak (Jeannette, Pa./Penn Trafford) and outside hitter Ross Madden (Richmond, Va./Deep Run).  Both Bortak and Madden earned All-CVC honors last year as a freshman and sophomore, respectively.  Also key will be senior Cameron Andrew (Dallas, Texas/The Greenhill School).  The outside hitter finished the 2012 season strong, getting named to the CVC Championships All-Tournament team.

The Eagles will have tough competition in league play this season.  The CVC boasts three programs in the top five nationally with another receiving votes.  Joining Carthage and Juniata in the top five is No. 4 UC Santa Cruz. 

Despite topping the Eagles in the national rankings, Carthage shares the top spot in the league's preseason poll as voted on by the CVC head coaches.  Both programs received 73 total points in the poll, but Juniata had five number one votes while Carthage picked up only three. UC Santa Cruz, who defeated the Eagles in a five set thriller during last year's conference tournament semifinal, placed third in the conference poll.

The Eagles kick off their schedule this Saturday, Jan. 19 when they travel to Penn State Altoona for a tri-match.  They face the host Lions at 11 a.m. before battling Lancaster Bible at 1 p.m.

Juniata's 2013 schedule sees them playing eight of the top 15 teams in the country.  They open at home in a tri-match against No. 11 Vassar and No. 13 Elmira on Saturday, Jan. 26 before traveling to face No. 1 Springfield on Feb. 1 in the Volleyball Hall of Fame Classic that also features NCAA Division I programs Harvard University and Loyola-Chicago. One of Juniata's other major road tests will be on Feb. 22 when they travel to Ohio State.

The Eagles will host the Juniata Invitational Feb. 15-16 this year, bringing No. 10 Medaille to Huntingdon.  Throughout the year they will also play host to No. 6 Nazareth (March 1) and No. 5 Steven's Tech (March 2).

When asked what his biggest concerns were for the upcoming season, Moore offered, "we have to be more balanced and get more players to contribute. How we handle our roles and how we respond to the tough times will determine how successful we will be this year."

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