Vrooman and Wolff lead Juniata men’s volleyball past NJIT, 3-1

NEWARK, N.J. – Outside hitter Chris Vrooman (Baden, Pa./Ambridge Area) and middle Ben Wolff (Meadville, Pa./Meadville) each posted double-digit kill totals to lead Juniata men's volleyball to a 3-1 win over New Jersey Institute of Technology, Saturday evening at the Fleisher Center. 

Set scores for Juniata were 26-24, 25-21, 21-25, and 25-22. 

Vrooman put down 14 kills on the night and finished with a .360 hitting percentage, while Wolff logged 10 kills on 18 swings with only one error for a .500 attack clip.  The two accounted for the bulk of Juniata's 57 kills versus NJIT, and paced an Eagle squad that hit .316 for the match. 

Ross Madden (Richmond, Va./Deep Run) finished the match with nine kills and a service ace 

Vrooman also contributed to the Eagles' point total at the net with six total blocks, while Wolff finished with four. Middle hitter John Prout (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) paced the Juniata blocking effort with eight total blocks, leading the Eagles in outblocking the Highlanders, 13.0 to 5.0. Prout also logged seven kills. 

Setter Mike Kraft (York, Pa./Eastern York) set 50 assists, and turned up a team high 10 digs. 

NJIT also had two players finished in double figures for kills, led by Adam Feehan's 16 kills. Adam Gustafson logged 10 kills against Juniata, but the Highlanders were held to a .200 hitting percentage and never led in any of the three sets they lost. 

Juniata (16-11, 7-0 EIVA Hay) had to beat back an NJIT comeback bid in the first set. 

After holding a lead as wide as 13-9, Juniata managed to stay at least one point ahead of NJIT in the latter half of the set. The Highlanders were within one point of tying the Eagles on five occasions after Juniata broke the 20-point mark, but were unable to tie the match. A kill by Kraft finally got the Eagles to set point at 25-24, and NJIT's Herman Kantushov hit an attack error to hand the set to Juniata. 

The Highlanders did tie up set two at 4-4, but the Eagles regained the lead on a kill by Madden, an NJIT attack error, and a double block by Vrooman and Prout. Juniata led the rest of the way, closing out the set with an attack error by NJIT's Andrei Stoyanow. 

Juniata and NJIT played to a little closer score in the fourth set, as the teams were tied at 22-22. Consecutive kills by Vrooman got Juniata to match point at 24-22, and the Eagles sealed the win with a double-block by Will Powers (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) and Prout.

Juniata closes out its regular season with two home matches, starting with Tuesday's clash with Saint Francis University at 7:00 p.m. in the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center. 

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