April 22, 2009

Juniata men’s volleyball places four on EIVA All-East teams

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Four Juniata College men’s volleyball players were tapped for the EIVA All-East teams and a fifth earned EIVA Division III All-Star honors, as the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association announced its 2009 postseason honors on Wednesday.

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Four Juniata College men's volleyball players were tapped for the EIVA All-East teams and a fifth earned EIVA Division III All-Star honors, as the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association announced its 2009 postseason honors on Wednesday.

Senior setter Matt Werle (Meadville, Pa./Meadville) was the lone Juniata player to earn First team All-East honors, and was also named an EIVA Division III All-Star. Werle currently has 1086 assists this season (12.48/set) with 142 digs (1.63/set) and 61 blocks (0.70/set). He was named Most Valuable Player of the 2009 Molten Division III Invitational last weekend, and earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III First team All-America honors.

Juniata had three players named to the EIVA All-East Second Team, and all three were also named to the EIVA's Division III All-Star squad: senior middle hitter Dan Powers (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township), junior outside hitter Zach Wanner (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield), and junior libero Anthony Damiano (Lititz, Pa./Manheim Township).

Powers, who also earned AVCA Division III First team All-America honors, is second on the team in kills with 255 (2.93/set), with a team-high 87 blocks (1.00/set). He currently ranks second among NCAA Division I-II statistical leaders with a .505 hitting percentage.

Wanner leads the Eagles with 373 kills (4.29/set), and ranks 12^th in Division I-II in kills per set. He was second on the team with 138 digs (1.59/set), and was named to the 2009 Molten Invitational All-Tournament Team.

Damiano, a 2009 Molten Invitational All-Tournament Team selection, has recorded 286 digs this season (3.29/set), and ranks second among NCAA Division I-II leaders in digs per set. He also ranks 40^th in assists per set with 0.71.

Junior middle hitter Evan Halteman (Perkiomenville, Pa./Christopher Dock) was named to the EIVA Division III All-Star team, following his selection as an AVCA Division III Second team All-America last week. Halteman is currently third on the team in kills with 229 (2.63/set), and second in blocks with 64 (0.74/set).

Juniata heads into the EIVA Tournament as the second seed with a 17-7 overall record, 8-4 EIVA Tait Division. The Eagles received a bye all the way to the semifinals, and will play on April 30 at Penn State's Rec Hall in State College, Pa. Juniata will have one of three possible opponents in the semifinals: no. 7 seed Rutgers-Newark, no. 6 seed Princeton, or no. 3 seed Saint Francis.

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