Juniata men’s volleyball overwhelms NYU, 3-0

NEW YORK – Senior middle Evan Halteman (Perkiomenville, Pa./Christopher Dock) and sophomore middle Ben Wolff (Meadville, Pa./Meadville) combined to pound out 16 kills while playing error-free volleyball, and lead Juniata College men's volleyball to a commanding 3-0 win over New York University at the Coles Sports Center. 

Set scores for Juniata were 30-14, 30-25, and 30-20. 

Halteman and Wolff hit a combined .696 for the match, and each finished with five total blocks. The middle hitter tandem led a Juniata squad that hit .375 for the match, while holding NYU to a .009 attack percentage. Halteman finished with 10 kills on 13 swings, while Wolff had six kills on his 10 attacks. 

Senior outside hitter Zach Wanner (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) led the Eagles offensively with 11 kills on 18 swings, while Chris Vrooman (Baden, Pa./Ambridge Area) logged eight terminations. 

Setter Mike Kraft (York, Pa./Eastern York) tallied 38 assists while guiding the Juniata offense, while libero Anthony Damiano (Lititz, Pa./Manheim Township) turned up 12 digs. Juniata out-dug NYU 37-26 for the match. 

NYU failed to produce a single player with double-digit kill totals. Pattrick Dodd and Cooper Gwaltney each had seven kills; Gwaltney also tallied 11 attack errors, and finished with a -.160 attack percentage. Ori Oren set 22 assists for the Violets, while Ryan Limb had a hand in four blocks. 

Juniata (5-6) enjoyed lengthy point runs in each of the three sets:  a pair of six-point runs in the first set, a pair of four-point runs in the second set, and a six-point run in the third set that helped break open a set the Eagles had been leading by a slim 16-15 margin. 

A service error by the Violets' Limb started the run, followed by a Juniata block by Wolff and Vrooman. The Eagles picked up the next three points on NYU attack errors, and Wanner closed out the run with a kill. That left Juniata with a 22-15 lead, and the Eagles cruised to the three-set victory from there.

-30-