Vrooman’s 21 kills pace fourth-ranked Juniata men’s volleyball past #7 Philadelphia Biblical

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Outside hitter Chris Vrooman (Baden, Pa./Ambridge Area) put away 21 kills hitting .600 on the night and had a hand in five blocks to lead Juniata College men's volleyball to a 3-1 victory over Philadelphia Biblical.

Set scores for Juniata were 25-13, 25-18, 27-29 and 25-21. 

Juniata (14-10) gave its second-best hitting percentage of the season, hitting .429 for the match, with setter Mike Kraft (York, Pa./Eastern York) dishing out 53 assists and picking up seven digs. Freshman Alex McColgin (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg ) returned to the court after a brief two match absence, and recorded 18 kills on 32 swings, but had four errors hitting .438. Freshman Will Powers (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) tallied 11 kills finishing with a .455 attack clip and also had two aces from behind the service line. 

Libero Ben Krouse (Holland, Pa. /Council Rock South) sprawled for seven digs, but senior Dan Follett (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) turned up a team-high eight digs. 

Philadelphia Biblical (21-10) was paced by Justin Brubaker with 22 kills. Brubaker accounted for 26.5 of the Crimson Eagles' points. Setter Drew Dillon set 42 assists, but Juniata held Philadelphia Biblical to a .179 attack percentage, out blocking them, 11.5 to 6.0. After two complete sets, Philadelphia Biblical was still hitting .000. 

In set one, Juniata jumped out to a 7-3 lead after a five point run served by Follett.  The Eagles continued to produce two and three point runs throughout the match. When the score was 22-11, a three-point run led by Powers brought the Eagles to match-point. An attack error by Wolff paused the finish, but Vrooman put down a kill on the next point to end the set 25-13. 

The second set followed suit, as the Eagles soared to an early 4-0 lead. Philadelphia Biblical crept back into the match, but the Eagles offense shut down any hope of a comeback. Back-to-back kills by McColgin and Vrooman at 16-11 sparked a three point run putting Juniata up 19-12. The Crimson Eagles clawed for a few more points, but Juniata put them back in their place at 25-18, gaining momentum heading into the third set. 

Set three appeared to be the same, as Juniata again jumped to an early 4-1 lead, and remained on the attack. At the 15-12 mark, Follett served for another four-point run putting the Eagles up 17-13. Juniata approached match point and the game looked as if it would be a 3-0 sweep. A kill by Vrooman brought the Eagles to set and match point. The score was 24-21 before a kill by Noah Prickett caused Juniata to stumble. A McColgin attack error followed by a Wolff attack error tied the score at 24-24. A service error by Prickett gave the Eagles the second advantage, but McColgin served the point into the net again tying the score at 25-25. McColgin fought back with a kill bringing Juniata to its third and last set point. Both teams went back and forth with kills until a kill by Prickett finally ended the battle at 29-27. 

The atmosphere remained tense throughout the fourth set as a yellow card was issued to Philadelphia Biblical, awarding Juniata a point and giving them a 7-4 lead.  The Eagles broke down Philadelphia Biblical's top offensive threat as Brubaker committed five of his 11 errors in the fourth set.  The Crimson Eagles continued to hang around, but a kill by McColgin followed by a Brubaker attack error caused Philadelphia Biblical to call a time out, in the hope of changing the outlook of the match. The Crimson Eagles were stunted by a kill from Wolff, forcing another timeout as Juniata went up 22-18. A few Crimson Eagle attack errors and another kill by Wolff put the Eagles at set and match point for the fourth time in the match. Prickett put down a ball, stalling the match in anticipation of a repeat of the third set; but a decisive kill by Vrooman ended the match 25-21. 

The Eagles return to the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center on Saturday, March 25, as they take on the Falcons of Pfeiffer at 7:00 p.m. 

Relay for Life will be hosting an event in honor of their cancer awareness efforts. There will be raffles, give-away prizes and information on the mezzanine throughout the match, as well as activities in-between sets. 

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