January 18, 2009

Men’s volleyball opens 2009 season with 3-0 loss to Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Juniata College men’s volleyball team opened its 2009 campaign with a 3-0 loss to The Ohio State University, Sunday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio. Set scores for Ohio State were 30-23, 30-24, and 30-25.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Juniata College men's volleyball team opened its 2009 campaign with a 3-0 loss to The Ohio State University, Sunday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio. Set scores for Ohio State were 30-23, 30-24, and 30-25. 

Juniata (0-1) trailed wire-to-wire against the Buckeyes (1-4), ranked 14th in the AVCA/Bison Division I-II poll, in the first two sets, but threatened an upset in set three.

The Eagles took a slim lead early, thanks to a Zach Wanner (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) kill followed by an attack error by OSU's John Klanac. After a side-out kill by the Buckeyes' Kevin Heine knotted the game at 2-2, Juniata again took a lead with a kill by Evan Halteman (Perkiomenville, Pa./Christopher Dock) followed by another Ohio State attack error. 

Juniata remained tied or ahead of Ohio State through 6-6, when an attack error by Dan Powers (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) gave the Buckeyes just their second lead of the set. A Klanac kill widened the OSU lead to 8-6, and four straight side-out points left Juniata trailing 10-8.  Ohio State rattled off the next three points, all off Juniata attack errors, giving the Buckeyes command of the set. 

The Eagles clawed their way back to within three points of the Buckeyes at 21-18, after a Wanner service ace. The two squads traded side-out points through 23-20, when Ohio State again scored back-to-back-to-back points, including two off Eagle attack errors. Ohio State eventually sealed the three-set victory with Klanac's game-point kill at 29-25. 

Juniata hit .115 for the match, paced by Wanner's 10 kills on 38 swings with 11 attack errors. Powers was Juniata's most efficient hitter, posting eight kills on 16 swings with a .438 attack percentage. Senior Matt Werle (Meadville, Pa./Meadville) set 33 assists for the Eagles, while Anthony Damiano (Lititz, Pa./Manheim Township) turned up 18 digs. 

The Eagles recorded just 8.0 team blocks on the afternoon, while Ohio State finished with 13.5 team blocks and were led by Shawn Sangrey's eight total blocks. Klanac finished with 11 kills for the Buckeyes while hitting .111 for the game. 

Juniata makes its home debut this Saturday, Jan. 24, at 2:00 p.m. against Mount Olive College. 

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