Kuhn Gets His 1,000th Kill As Juniata Defeats Thiel
HUNTINGDON, PA- For the second time this season, a Juniata men’s volleyball player has reached 1,000 kills in his career. Paul Kuhn (York, PA/Central York) reached the historic milestone on Tuesday night after Joe Bortak (Jeanette, PA/Penn Trafford) had earlier reached the mark on March 7. Kuhn ended the night with 12 total kills and 13 digs as the Eagles defeated Thiel 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 25-20) at Memorial Gymnasium.
HUNTINGDON, PA- For the second time this season, a Juniata men's volleyball player has reached 1,000 kills in his career. Paul Kuhn (York, PA/Central York) reached the historic milestone on Tuesday night after Joe Bortak (Jeanette, PA/Penn Trafford) had earlier reached the mark on March 7. Kuhn ended the night with 12 total kills and 13 digs as the Eagles defeated Thiel 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 25-20) at Memorial Gymnasium.
The win ups Juniata's record to 18-3 overall and 9-0 in the Continental Volleyball Conference. The Bobcats fall to 9-9 and 3-5 in the CVC.
The first game was tied at 2-2 until a 13-4 run by JC put the Eagles in front 15-6. Juniata ended up outscoring the Tomcats 10-7 to easily take the first set.
The second frame saw Thiel take leads of 3-0, 6-3, and 9-4. The Tomcats still had a five-point lead at 17-12 and were ahead at one point, 19-16. The Eagles then scored five straight points to take back the lead and go up 21-16. Thiel was able to recover and inch ahead 22-21 before three straight JC points restored the Juniata lead to 24-22. An attack error on Kuhn got Thiel to within 24-23, but Bortak's kill ended the set to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
The Eagles took a 6-0 advantage in the third set. Thiel got three straight points to make it 6-3 but Juniata got those back to go ahead 9-3. The Eagles led by as much as 15-6 but the Tomcats were able to get to within 20-18. A kill by Chad Albert (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) followed by an attack error on Thiel put Juniata up 22-18. The Eagles' lead stood at 23-20 and a service error on the Tomcats followed by a kill from Justin Waldorf (Eden, NY/Eden) gave Juniata set point and the win.
Waldorf added eight kills and three block assists. Tommy Keisling (Sewickley, PA/North Allegheny) totaled 12 digs. Matt Elias (Lansdale, PA/North Penn) picked up 32 assists. Kyle Seeley (three kills, four digs) and Bortak (11 kills, four digs) both had three block assists.
Juniata will play Penn State-Altoona on the road in a non-conference match tomorrow. Start time will be at 7 p.m.